Werner Thissen

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Archbishop Werner Thissen (2007)
Archbishop's coat of arms

Werner Thissen (born December 3, 1938 in Kleve ) is retired Archbishop of Hamburg and former Metropolitan of the North German Church Province .

Life

Werner Thissen began to study economics in Cologne after graduating from the Collegium Augustinianum Gaesdonck . Finally he studied Catholic theology and philosophy at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster . During his studies he became an active member of the Catholic student association Germania Münster in the KV . On June 29, 1966, Thissen received the sacrament of ordination in Münster . Then he was chaplain in St. Josef in Dorsten until 1969 , spiritual at the Collegium Johanneum in Ostbevern from 1969 to 1971 and subregens at the seminary of the diocese of Münster from 1971 to 1977 . In 1974 he was charged with a thesis on the Gospel of Mark to Dr. theol. PhD . From 1977 he was head of the pastoral care department in the Episcopal General Vicariate in Münster and was appointed to the clergy in the same year . In 1984 he was appointed resident cathedral capitular at the Hohen Domkirche in Münster . In 1986, Bishop Reinhard Lettmann appointed him his vicar general , an office in which he was succeeded by Norbert Kleyboldt in 1999 . During this time, Thissen was a spokesperson for the ARD program Das Wort zum Sonntag for almost ten years .

Pope John Paul II appointed Thissen on April 16, 1999 titular bishop of Scampa and auxiliary bishop in the diocese of Münster . He received his episcopal consecration on May 24, 1999, the Bishop of Münster, Reinhard Lettmann ; Co-consecrators were the auxiliary bishops in Muenster, Alfons Demming and Henry Janssen . His episcopal motto is "In Christo nova creatura - In Christ a new creation". In the diocese of Münster, Thissen was the regional bishop responsible for the Borken - Steinfurt region.

In 2000 he was appointed Grand Officer of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem by Cardinal Grand Master Carlo Cardinal Furno and invested on October 7, 2000 by Anton Schlembach , Grand Prior of the German Lieutenancy . From 2005 to 2013 he was Prior of the North German Order Province of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem ; his successor was dean Bernhard connector.

On November 22, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Hamburg. The official inauguration took place on January 25, 2003.

The age-related request for resignation submitted by the Archbishop in accordance with canon law at the end of his 75th birthday was accepted by Pope Francis on March 21, 2014. After his retirement, Thissen intends to live in the Hamburg district of St. Georg and to do pastoral work.

Werner Thissen was a member of the World Church Commission of the German Bishops' Conference as well as chairman of the sub-commission for questions of development aid and in particular responsible for the Episcopal Aid Organization Misereor .

In November 2019, Thissen admitted serious mistakes in dealing with sexual abuse from his time as a responsible person in the diocese of Münster.

honors and awards

Individual evidence

  1. Andreas Daams: Departure into the big world. In: derwesten.de. October 22, 2014, accessed August 19, 2019 .
  2. Word on Sunday - 60 Years - Archbishop Thissen on YouTube , January 15, 2014, accessed on August 19, 2019.
  3. ^ Nomin dell'Arcivesco Metropolita di Hamburg (Reponlica Federale de Germania). In: Bollettino. Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, November 22, 2002, accessed September 28, 2019 (Italian).
  4. cf. Codex Iuris Canonici , can. 401
  5. ^ Rinuncia dell'Arcivesco di Hamburg (Germania). In: Bollettino. Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, March 21, 2014, accessed September 28, 2019 (Italian).
  6. Thissen about the upcoming retirement ( Memento of March 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  7. Abuse: Archbishop Werner Thissen admits serious mistakes. In: kirche-und-leben.de. November 6, 2019, accessed November 6, 2019 .

Web links

Commons : Werner Thissen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Heinrich Janssen Vicar General of the Diocese of Münster
1986–1999
Norbert Kleyboldt
Ludwig Averkamp Archbishop of Hamburg
2003–2014
Stefan Heße