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OverviewAI-generated
Rainer Maria Woelki is a German Catholic priest, bishop, philosopher, and non-fiction writer. Born in Cologne in 1956, he holds citizenship in Germany and adheres to the Catholic Church. He speaks German and Ecclesiastical Latin. Woelki was educated at the University of Bonn and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where he earned a Doctor of Divinity degree. He serves as a cardinal priest and titular bishop, having been consecrated by Joachim Meisner, Klaus Dick, and Norbert Trelle.
He is a member of the German Bishops' Conference and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Woelki participated in the 2013 and 2025 conclaves. His motto is "nos sumus testes." As an author, he has written the work *Gott begleitet uns*. He has received an honorary degree.
Synthesized by Vinony from 23 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, TMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 1
Top works
- Gott begleitet uns
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Cologne, Germany
Rainer Maria Woelki is a German theologian, a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and, since 2014, Archbishop of Cologne and Metropolitan of the associated ecclesiastical province. In connection with the investigation of cases of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne, a crisis of confidence arose in the archdiocese after 2018 as a result of mistakes made by Woelki.
Known for
- Horst Schlämmer sucht das Glück — Rainer Maria Woelki2026
- BILD LIVE — Self2021
- Stadt, Rad, Hund — Self2013
- Kulturzeit — Self1995
- Morgenmagazin — Self1992
via TMDB
Key facts
- Church
- Roman Catholic Church
- Archdiocese
- Cologne
- Province
- Cologne
- Appointed
- 11 July 2014
- Installed
- 20 September 2014
- Predecessor
- Joachim Meisner
- Other post
- Cardinal-Priest of San Giovanni Maria Vianney (2012–)
- Previous posts
- Archbishop of Berlin (2011–2014) Titular Bishop of Scampa (2003–2011) Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne (2003–2011)
- Ordination
- 14 June 1985, by Joseph Höffner
- Consecration
- 30 March 2003, by Joachim Meisner
- Created cardinal
- 18 February 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI
- Rank
- Cardinal-Priest
- Born
- Rainer Maria Woelki , ( 1956-08-18 ) 18 August 1956 (age 69) , Köln-Mülheim , Cologne , North Rhine-Westphalia , West Germany
- Denomination
- Roman Catholic
- Alma mater
- University of Bonn
- Motto
- Nos sumus testes (We are witnesses)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Germany
- Place of birth
- Cologne
- Occupation
- Catholic bishop
- Position held
- titular bishop
- Educated at
- Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
- Languages spoken
- Ecclesiastical Latin
- Religion
- Catholic Church
- Award
- honorary degree
- Participant in
- 2025 conclave
- Academic degree
- Doctor of Divinity
- Image
- Rainer Maria Kardinal Woelki, Erzbischof von Köln (2019).jpg
- Motto
- nos sumus testes
Show 6 more facts
- consecrator
- Norbert Trelle
- Commons category
- Rainer Maria Woelki
- date of birth
- 1956-08-18
- member of
- German Bishops' Conference
- name in native language
- Rainer Maria Woelki
- P8168
- Tramea basilaris
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Rainer Maria Woelki ( German pronunciation: [ˈʁaɪnɐ maˈʁiːa ˈvœlki]; born 18 August 1956) is a German Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Cologne since 2014. This came following his election by the Cathedral Chapter to succeed Joachim Meisner. He previously served as Archbishop of Berlin. He was made a cardinal in 2012.
Earlier career
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Rainer Woelki” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.