Felix Genn (born 6 March 1950) is a German

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who is currently the

Bishop of Münster A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. Previously, he was the

Bishop of Essen The Diocese of Essen is a bishopric of the Catholic Church in Germany, founded on 1 January 1958. The Bishop of Essen is seated in Essen Cathedral (''Essener Dom'' or ''Essener Münster''), once the church of Essen Abbey, and over one thousand ...

and, prior to that, was an Auxiliary Bishop of Trier. Since 2013, he has been a member of the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dica ...

Early life and education

Genn was born on 6 March 1950 in the town of Burgbrohl, which is located in the

Ahrweiler Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler () is a spa town in the German Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate that serves as the capital of the Ahrweiler district. The A61 motorway connects the town with cities like Cologne and Mainz. Formed by the merging of the ...

district of the German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. He was raised on a farm in

Wassenach Wassenach is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

and graduated from the Kurfürst-Salentin Gymnasium in

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the '' Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing villa ...

in 1969. Between 1969 and 1974, he undertook the study of theology at the

University of Trier The University of Trier (german: Universität Trier), in the German city of Trier, was founded in 1473. Closed in 1798 by order of the then French administration in Trier, the university was re-established in 1970 after a hiatus of some 172 ...

and the

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on ...

. Finally, on 29 June 1985, he received his PhD in theology from the University of Trier. He wrote his

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

Career

Leipzig 100 Deutscher Katholikentag Stefanie Heinrich Felix Genn 01

Priestly ministry

Genn was ordained a priest on 11 July 1976 in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

by Bishop

Bernhard Stein Karl Friedrich Kahlert (25 September 1765 – 8 September 1813) also known by the pen names Lawrence Flammenberg or Lorenz Flammenberg and Bernhard Stein was a German author of gothic fiction. He is best known for ''The Necromancer; or, The Tale ...

. Upon being made a priest, he was appointed a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of the Holy Cross Church in

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in the ...

, a position he held for two years. In 1978, he was made the ''subregens'' (assistant head) of the diocesan seminary of Trier, where he remained until 1994. In 1985, he was made the seminary's spiritual director. From 1994 to 1997, Genn was a permanent lecturer of the theological faculty of the University of Trier. Following this, he was made the ''regens'' of the St. Lambert House of Study in the Burg Lantershofen.

Episcopal ministry

On 16 April 1999, Genn was appointed an Auxiliary Bishop of Trier and simultaneously the

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

Uzalis El Alia is a town and commune in the Bizerte Governorate, Tunisia. It was the ancient Uzalis in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis, which became a Christian bishopric that is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees. It is ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He was consecrated a bishop in the

Cathedral of Trier The High Cathedral of Saint Peter in Trier (german: Hohe Domkirche St. Peter zu Trier), or Trier Cathedral (german: Trierer Dom), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the oldest church in Germany and th ...

on 30 May 1999 and was charged as vicar for the Visitation District of

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and t ...

. Bishop Hermann Josef Spital was his

principal consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

, while Bishops

Franz-Josef Hermann Bode Franz-Josef Hermann Bode (16 February 1951) is German prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Bishop of Osnabrück, Germany, since 1995. He has been a bishop since 1991 and Deputy Chairman of the German Bishops Conference since 2017. Within t ...

and

Alfred Kleinermeilert Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

were his co-consecrators. On 4 April 2003, he was then transferred by Pope John Paul II with his appointment as the third

. He was enthroned in the diocese on 6 July 2003. Genn was appointed the seventy-sixth Bishop of Münster on 19 December 2008 by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

after being elected by the cathedral chapter, succeeding

Reinhard Lettmann Reinhard Lettmann (9 March 1933 – 16 April 2013) was the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Münster, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous ...

. He was enthroned in the diocese on 29 March 2009. On 21 August 2010, he was awarded

honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of Wassenach. As part of a major political shake-up of the

on 16 December 2013,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed Genn as a member of the congregation, succeeding Cardinal

Joachim Meisner Joachim Meisner (25 December 1933 – 5 July 2017) was a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the immediate past Archbishop of Cologne, serving from 1989 until his resignation was accepted by Pope Francis in 2014. He previously serve ...

Coat of arms

Upon being made a bishop, Genn took up an episcopal coat of arms. Upon being made Bishop of Münster, he adopted a new coat of arms. On his current coat of arms, the yellow and red striped fields on the top left and bottom right of the shield are taken from the Diocese of Münster's coat of arms. The eagle in the top right field is indicative of Genn's hometown of Wassenach, as an eagle is present in its coat of arms, and is a remnant of his previous coats of arms as Bishop of Essen and Auxiliary Bishop of Trier. Moreover, the eagle relates to his

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

episcopal motto, , which is taken from . The seven heads of grain in the lower left field reference Genn's peasant background. However, their number also symbolizes the fullness of life and believers of God who gather from all directions with a hunger and thirst for life.

Positions

Genn supports Synodal Path in Germany. He supported a document "Leben in gelingenden Beziehungen - Grundlinien einer erneuerten Sexualethik", in which a reform of Rom-catholic sexual ethic is part of the text, for example for same-sex partnerships. Domradio: Bischof Genn fordert weiter Neubewertung von Sexualität
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References

External links

Diocese of MünsterDiocese of EssenDiocese of Trier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genn, Felix Living people 20th-century German Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century German Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Münster Roman Catholic bishops of Essen 1950 births People from Ahrweiler (district) University of Trier alumni 20th-century German Catholic theologians 21st-century German Catholic theologians 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Germany