Second German bishop in two weeks resigns, citing ‘toll of office’
Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden‑Meissen, citing the toll of office. Timmerevers’ resignation followed two weeks after Bishop Karl‑Heinz Wiesemann of Speyer stepped down, citing psychological strain. Both bishops resigned well before the usual retirement age of 75, highlighting increasing pressures on German diocesan leadership. The resignations were announced by the Holy See press office and confirmed by the apostolic nuncio for Germany.
28 days ago
Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden-Meissen on September 2, making him the second German diocesan bishop to resign early within two weeks. Timmerevers cited the personal toll of the office, while Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of Speyer had cited psychological strain when he resigned on August 19. 1
Timmerevers, 74, submitted his resignation months before its acceptance and discussed it with Pope Leo XIV during a private audience. The pope then referred the request to the Dicastery for Bishops before approving it. 1
In a video announcing the decision, Timmerevers said that the responsibilities and challenges of leading the diocese had taken “an enormous toll” on him. He emphasized that there was no external cause or urgent health concern, but said age and his many responsibilities had left their mark and that the diocese needed “boundless energy” and younger leadership. 1
He plans to remain in Dresden in a rented apartment and continue serving the diocese pastorally when needed. A Mass scheduled for September 5, originally intended to mark the 25th anniversary of his episcopal ordination, will instead serve as a farewell; Bishop Heiner Wilmer, chairman of the German bishops’ conference, is expected to preach. 1
Timmerevers was born in 1952, ordained a priest for Münster in 1980, appointed an auxiliary bishop there in 2001, and became Bishop of Dresden-Meissen in 2016. He led a diocese with approximately 124,700 Catholics in one of Germany’s most secular regions, although its 12.5% Mass-attendance rate was among the country’s highest. 1
During his tenure, the diocese reduced its parishes from 97 to 37 and launched an austerity program designed to save millions of euros annually. The financial restructuring led to the closure or transfer of the Bildungsgut Schmochtitz St. Benno Catholic education center, a decision the diocese described as painful. 1
The diocese said Timmerevers worked to address abuse-related issues, though he faced strong resistance from some critics. He was also a supporter of Germany’s controversial Synodal Way and had publicly advocated permitting blessings for same-sex couples before the Vatican’s 2023 declaration Fiducia supplicans; in 2020, he appointed a lay worker and a priest to provide pastoral care for Catholics identifying as LGBT. 1
German bishops’ conference chairman Wilmer described the resignation as “a great loss” and praised Timmerevers’ commitment to ecumenism. Wilmer also highlighted his public engagement in eastern Germany, including responses to the rise of right-wing populism and the Pegida demonstrations that began in Dresden in 2014. 1
Timmerevers’ departure followed the resignation of Wiesemann, 66, as Bishop of Speyer on August 19. Wiesemann stepped down nearly a decade before the customary retirement age and attributed his decision to “psychological strain.” 1
In June 2025, Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke resigned as Bishop of Eichstätt at age 70. Hanke, a critic of the Synodal Way, cited “inner fatigue” arising from the challenges, scandals, and unresolved conflicts during his time in office. 1
Other German bishops have offered early resignations in recent years but remained in office. Archbishop Stefan Heße, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, and Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki each submitted resignations between 2021 and 2022, but Pope Francis asked them to continue serving their respective archdioceses. 1
After Timmerevers’ and Wiesemann’s resignations, three German dioceses are vacant. Hildesheim also needs a new bishop following Pope Leo XIV’s appointment of Bishop Wilmer as Bishop of Münster. 1
Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg has offered his resignation ahead of his 75th birthday on November 19. The article does not indicate that Pope Leo XIV has yet accepted it. 1
The next Bishop of Dresden-Meissen will be chosen under the Baden Concordat. The Vatican reviews candidate lists submitted annually by the bishop and a separate list prepared by the cathedral chapter after the see becomes vacant. 1
The Vatican then produces a shortlist of three candidates, including at least one from the Diocese of Dresden-Meissen. The cathedral chapter elects one candidate by secret ballot, after which the governments of Saxony and Thuringia may raise political concerns but cannot veto the selection; the pope makes the final appointment. 1*
Investigate the Catholic Church’s doctrine on episcopal resignation
In Catholic teaching, resignation concerns a bishop’s ecclesiastical office, not the sacrament of Holy Orders. A bishop may cease to govern a diocese, but episcopal ordination remains permanently conferred. The Church therefore distinguishes between the bishop’s sacramental identity and his pastoral office of governance.
For the Latin Church, the principal norm is Canon 401 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law:
“A diocesan bishop who has completed the seventy-fifth year of age is requested to present his resignation from office to the Supreme Pontiff.”
The same canon states that a diocesan bishop who has become less able to fulfill his office because of illness or another grave reason is “earnestly requested” to resign.
Several points are important:
Thus, a resignation is effective only when accepted by the competent authority. The historical canonical principle that ecclesiastical resignation requires acceptance is also stated in the older canonical reference supplied here.
The Second Vatican Council explains the pastoral reason:
Because the office of bishops is “important and weighty,” bishops who have become less capable of fulfilling their duties properly because of age or another serious reason are earnestly requested to offer their resignation.
The purpose is not to imply that old age makes a bishop spiritually useless. Rather, the Church must ensure that a particular church has a shepherd capable of meeting the concrete demands of teaching, sanctifying, and governing. The Council also directs that, when resignation is accepted, provision should be made for the resigned bishop’s suitable support and for any special rights accorded to him.
Catholic theology does not treat a resigned bishop as someone who has ceased to be a bishop. The episcopate is the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders, and the bishop’s identity is not reducible to holding an administrative position. The supplied theological study emphasizes that episcopal ministry is a service—or diakonia—received through Christ and connected with the bishop’s permanent sacramental identity.
Consequently, a bishop emeritus:
The distinction is therefore between being a bishop and being the diocesan bishop of a particular diocese.
Resignation can be understood as an act of pastoral charity and ecclesial responsibility. Pope Francis’s statement on resignations describes the practice as applying to bishops who reach seventy-five and invites them to submit their resignation from pastoral office.
A bishop may discern that continuing to govern would no longer adequately serve the faithful. The theological analysis of Benedict XVI’s resignation presents this principle in terms of seeking “the good of the Church and not oneself.”
This does not mean that every bishop must resign as soon as he experiences weakness, nor that resignation is necessarily a failure. The relevant question is whether the bishop can responsibly fulfill the demands of his office and whether resignation would better serve the Church.
Theologically, episcopal ministry is not merely employment or public administration. A bishop receives a mission to shepherd a portion of Christ’s flock. The study supplied here highlights two related obligations:
These obligations can appear to pull in different directions. Persevering through suffering may express fidelity to Christ, while resigning may be the more responsible act if incapacity seriously harms the diocese. Catholic doctrine does not resolve every case by a mechanical rule; it requires prudent discernment, obedience to legitimate ecclesiastical authority, and concern for the salvation and welfare of the faithful.
A theological objection sometimes raised is that episcopal ministry involves lifelong self-giving and should not be treated as a position from which one simply retires. The supplied study argues that a bishop’s service cannot be reduced entirely to an office and that the bishop remains permanently marked by episcopal ordination.
That concern is significant, but it does not invalidate the Church’s discipline. Canonical resignation does not abolish the bishop’s consecration or erase his lifelong relationship to the Church. It ends, when accepted, his governance of a particular office. The Council’s provision for resignation reflects the Church’s judgment that pastoral responsibility can sometimes require relinquishing administrative governance.
Canon 401 directly addresses diocesan bishops. Pope Francis’s 2018 norms extend the age-based invitation to:
The precise canonical consequences can differ according to the office held. An auxiliary bishop, for example, does not govern a diocese in the same way as a diocesan bishop, so his resignation is understood in relation to the pastoral office entrusted to him.
The Eastern Catholic Churches follow their own Code of Canons. Canon 210 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches similarly requests resignation from an eparchial bishop who reaches seventy-five or becomes less capable because of ill health or another serious reason.
The authority receiving the resignation may differ:
The Church’s doctrine and discipline can be summarized as follows:
Resignation is therefore best understood not as abandonment of episcopal ministry, but as the relinquishing of a specific office when the Church judges that this better serves Christ and the faithful.