Catholic Church in Germany

Common card · No. 251939

The Catholic Church in Germany (German: Katholische Kirche in Deutschland) or Roman Catholic Church in Germany (German: Römisch-katholische Kirche in Deutschland) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the German bishops. The current "Speaker" (i.e., Chairman) of the episcopal conference is bishop Heiner Wilmer. It is divided into 27 dioceses, 7 of them with the rank of metropolitan sees. Growing rejection of the Church has had its impact in Germany; nevertheless, 23% of the total population remain Roman Catholic (19.2 million people as of December 2025). Before the 1990 reunification of Germany by accession of the former German Democratic Republic (or East Germany), Roman Catholics were 42% of the population of West Germany. Religious demographic data is relatively accessible in Germany because, by law, all Christian taxpayers must declare their religious affiliation so that the church tax can be deducted by the state...

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