Hans-Reinhard Koch (27 November 1929 – 25 April 2018) was a German

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate. Ordained to the priesthood in 1955, he served as titular bishop of Mediana and as auxiliary bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Erfurt The Diocese of Erfurt () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic church in Germany. The diocese was created in 1973 as the apostolic administration of Erfurt-Meiningen, and was elevated in 1994 to the current diocese of Erfurt. The diocese is a ...

, Germany, from 1985 to 2004.Hans-Reinhard Koch
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Early life and education

Koch was born in

Leinefelde Leinefelde-Worbis () is a town in the district of Eichsfeld, in northwestern Thuringia, Germany. The town was formed on March 16, 2004, from the former independent towns Leinefelde and Worbis along with the municipalities of Breitenbach and Wi ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

as the son of dentist Adolf Koch and housewife Maria Koch.Fabian Klaus (25 April 201
Abschied vom ersten Weihbischof: Hans-Reinhard Koch stirbt nach schwerem Sturz
''Thüringer Allgemeine'' He had two older and two younger siblings. After elementary school in Leinefelde he completed secondary school in Heiligenstadt and

Duderstadt Duderstadt () is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen. It is the centre and the capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld ("Untereichsfeld"). It was once the private wealth of the Roman Catholic ar ...

where he received his

abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1950. He went on to study theology at the seminary in

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

, Erfurt, and

Neuzelle Abbey Neuzelle Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in Lower Lusatia, Germany, in the historic border region between Lower Lusatia and the March of Brandenburg. It is regarded as one of the most significant Baroque monuments in the North of Germany. The ...

.Erfurts Altweihbischof Hans-Reinhard Koch gestorben
Katolisch.de. Retrieved 26 April 201

Career

He was ordained priest by bishop Josef FreusbergBishop Hans-Reinhard Koch
Catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 26 April 2018 in

Erfurt Cathedral Erfurt Cathedral (, officially ''Hohe Domkirche St. Marien zu Erfurt'', English: Cathedral Church of St Mary at Erfurt), also known as St Mary's Cathedral, is the largest and oldest church building in the Thuringian city of Erfurt, ...

in 1955.Trauer um Altweihbischof Hans-Reinhard Koch
''Eichsfelder Nachrichten'', 25 April 2018 After working as chaplain in

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: *Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district ** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city *Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost, ...

, he got a position in

Kölleda Kölleda (until 1927 Cölleda) is a small rural town in Thuringia. The municipality belongs to the district of Sömmerda and is located about ten kilometres east of the district town of Sömmerda on the edge of the Thuringian Basin. It is the thi ...

where he worked as pastor for youth in

district of Sömmerda A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. In 1965, he started working at the seminary in Erfurt where he became in charge of the education of priests. In 1968, he started working at the

diocesan chancery A diocesan chancery is the branch of administration that handles all written documents used in the official government of a Catholic, Anglican, or Orthodox diocese. It is in the diocesan chancery that, under the direction of the bishop or his r ...

where he became administrator for priests and lay staff. He served as cathedral priest at Erfurt Cathedral from 1983. He was appointed auxiliary

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Erfurt-Meiningen and

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 an ...

of Mediana in May 1985 and ordained bishop by apostolic administrator and titular Bishop

Joachim Wanke Joachim was, according to Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary (mother of Jesus), and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of the New Testament apoc ...

on 6 July 1985. When the area became

in 1994, Koch became auxiliary bishop to Wanke. His motto as bishop, ''Illum oportet crescere'', was derived from John 3:30 ("He must become greater; I must become less"). He retired in 2004 at the age 75, the statutory retirement age in the diocese.

Personal life and awards

Koch continued to live in Erfurt after his retirement and enjoyed reading and art. He made a pilgrimage to the church of Klüschen Hagis in 2013, when he was more than 80 years old. He served for many years on the board of the German Caritas (''Deutscher Caritasverband''). In 2009, he was awarded the highest award of the organization, the ''Silbernen Brottellers''. He received the

Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia The Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia () is the highest order which is bestowed by the Free State of Thuringia. The number of living holders of the order is limited to 300 persons. Notable recipients * Iris von Arnim * Rolf-Dieter Ar ...

from

Christine Lieberknecht Christine Lieberknecht (born Determann 7 May 1958 in Weimar) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). From 2009 to 2014, she served as the Minister President of Thuringia. Lieberknecht was the first woman to become head ...

in 2010. Koch was found unconscious in his home on 21 April 2018 and diagnosed with

intracranial hemorrhage Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) refers to any form of Hemorrhage, bleeding Internal bleeding, within the Human skull, skull. It can result from trauma, vascular abnormalities, hypertension, or other medical conditions. ICH is broadly categorized ...

. He never regained consciousness, and died on 25 April 2018 at the age of 88.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Hans-Reinhard 1929 births 2018 deaths German Roman Catholic titular bishops People from Leinefelde-Worbis