The Lord's Vineyards devastated by modernist tenants. First priest in the Archdiocese of Hamburg after 5 years. Three out of the seven dioceses in Catholic Bavaria have no ordinations this year.
In Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, the number of priestly ordinations this year is at an all-time low. This news from the Archdiocese of Hamburg seems almost like a small ray of hope.
After five years, there is a new priest for the Archdiocese of Hamburg. Archbishop Stefan Heße will ordain a 47-year-old former Bundeswehr officer on Saturday in Hamburg's St. Mary's Cathedral, the archdiocese announced on Thursday. The last two men to be ordained priests in Germany's northernmost diocese, with around 340,000 Catholics, were in 2020.
According to the information, the new priest is Markus Schlenker, a native of Heidelberg, who came to Hamburg as a soldier. There he decided to study theology and become a priest. He was ordained a deacon last year. Since then, he has worked in the parish of St. Anna in Schwerin and the parish of St. Elisabeth in Hamburg-Bergedorf.
Ordination by Laying on of Hands
The priesthood in the Catholic Church can only be received by men, who are usually unmarried. Ordination is considered a sacrament and is conferred by a bishop through the laying on of hands and prayer.
Ordinations for men belonging to religious orders have also been held within the archdiocese for several years. In 2020, for example, a Benedictine received the sacrament at the Nütschau Monastery in Schleswig-Holstein. The following year, a Jesuit was ordained at the Kleiner Michel in Hamburg.
In the Catholic Church, 29 June is traditionally associated with the ordination of new priests. However, the number of men who are willing to answer God's call to the priesthood continues to fall, even in Catholic Bavaria.
A new low in the number of young priests in the seven Bavarian (arch)dioceses: According to a survey by the Catholic News Agency (KNA), a total of six diocesan priests will be ordained in 2025. This is the lowest number for more than 60 years. There were ten in 2024.
In three dioceses, ordinations have been completely cancelled this year due to a lack of candidates: In the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and in the dioceses of Eichstätt and Passau. In Würzburg, Bishop Franz Jung will lay hands on a candidate next Saturday. Two priests will be ordained in Regensburg (28 June) and two in Augsburg (29 June), while another candidate will be ordained in Bamberg on 28 June. - On 29 June, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Princes of the Apostles Peter and Paul, the two most important followers of Jesus in early Christianity.
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