Archbishop of Cologne

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The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ex officio one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne. Since the early days of the Catholic Church, there have been 94 bishops and archbishops of Cologne. Four of them resigned in response to impeachment. Eight were coadjutor bishops before they took office. Seven were appointed as coadjutors freely by the pope. One moved to the Curia, where he became a cardinal. Additionally, six were chairmen of the German Bishops' Conference. Cardinal Rainer Woelki has been Archbishop of Cologne since his 2014 transfer from Berlin, where he was also cardinal-archbishop.

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