Bishop appoints Austria's first female Episcopal Vicar
From February
Bishop Marketz appoints Austria's first female episcopal vicar: Pastoral theologian Velik-Frank assumes leadership responsibility for the area of "Synodality and Church Development"
Diocesan Bishop Dr. Josef Marketz has now appointed a woman as episcopal vicar: Pastoral theologian Dr. Barbara Velik-Frank, Managing Director of the ARGE Community Counseling and Organizational Development, Deputy Managing Director of the Institute for Church Ministries and Services, Training Director of the Department for Parish Pastoral Staff, and Spiritual Assistant of the Austrian Catholic Women's Movement, will become Episcopal Vicar for Synodality and Church Development in the Diocese of Gurk, effective March 1.
According to the Episcopal Decree, the establishment of the new office serves to "continue and implement the guidelines and impulses from the synodal church development process of the diocese." The canonical basis for the new office is Pope Francis' accompanying note to the final document of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in which he declares "that synodality is the appropriate interpretive framework for the hierarchical office." This document obligates the particular churches to "make decisions that are consistent with the guidance contained in the Synod. In processes of discernment and decision-making, both the provisions of canon law and the Synod document should be implemented," the decree states. Velik-Frank, who has already served as coordinator of the diocesan church development process for three years, as Episcopal Vicar "holds the executive chair of the project management of the church development process and of the subordinate and subordinate working and project groups," as the decree states. As a layperson appointed by the bishop, Velik-Frank is subject to the authority of the bishop as her technical superior and the vicar general as her superior in terms of administrative law. In her role as Episcopal Vicar, Velik-Frank will also be a member of the Consistory Board, the Ordinariate Conference, as well as the boards of the Diocesan Council and the Deans' Conference.
For Bishop Marketz, the establishment of the new office and the associated appointment of Barbara Velik-Frank as Episcopal Vicar are "not only important steps along the synodal path, but above all also concrete implementations of the strengthening of lay people, and especially women, called for by Pope Francis." With Barbara Velik-Frank, a "woman will now lead this synodal development process, which is so important for the Church in Carinthia, who has accompanied and helped shape the process from the very beginning with her overview and detailed knowledge." As an experienced theologian and pastor, Velik-Frank has gained experience in many different areas. "I have complete confidence that she will continue to set the synodal development of the Church on the right path and continue it in the spirit of Pope Francis and the Synod of Bishops, in order to restructure the Church in Carinthia and position it well for the future."
For Velik-Frank, the appointment as Episcopal Vicar is "a special recognition and also a further sign of increased leadership responsibility for women in the Church." The pastoral theologian, who holds a doctorate in pastoral theology, is pleased to be able to "drive not only the church development process, but above all the topic of synodality in our diocese" as an episcopal vicar. According to Velik-Frank, synodality means "facing the world's challenges and questions together and not having hasty answers to burning (reform) questions." It's not necessarily about restructuring or a rapid redistribution of offices, but rather about "finding compromises, striving for solutions, and sometimes even persevering in the tension of inconsistency." With a view to the next steps in the church development process, "an adjustment of the organizational structure is unavoidable in order to be able to effectively implement our priorities and goals," says Velik-Frank, fully aware "that change also brings uncertainty and requires the courage to try new things." She looks forward to "working together, synodally, with others in the coming months to best implement the goals we have defined in the process."
Dr. Barbara Velik-Frank was born in Vienna in 1968. She is married and has two adult daughters. After studying Catholic theology and religious education in Vienna, she worked for many years in international development cooperation, including four years in a social project in northeastern Brazil and then in project management and development education work with several NGOs. Until 2014, Velik-Franz taught religion at secondary and advanced secondary schools in Klagenfurt and Villach. Since 2014, the theologian has worked in various pastoral areas within the diocese, including as a pastoral or parish assistant (Arnoldstein, Vorderberg, Egg, Thörl-Maglern) and in regional work (Villach and Villach-Land). In 2024, Velik-Frank took over as training director for the diocesan pastoral assistant program and as managing director of the ARGE Community Counseling Association. In her dissertation in pastoral theology, the trained systemic organizational consultant dealt with the discursive conditioning of women in the institution of the church.
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