Will Bätzing be re-elected as German bishops’ chairman?

The current conference chair is the front runner for a second term - if he stands for re election.

When the German bishops gather for a plenary assembly in February, they will decide who will lead the country’s powerful episcopal conference for the next six years.

Bishop Georg Bätzing preaches at the opening Mass of the German bishops’ fall plenary assembly at Fulda Cathedral on Sept. 22, 2025. Credit: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz / Marko Orlovic.

There …