Diocese of Hildesheim
Hildesien(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Hildesheim, Germany
The Diocese of Hildesheim is a Latin Church diocese in Lower Saxony, Germany, founded in 815 and a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Hamburg. The see is sede vacante as of June 2026 following Bishop Heiner Wilmer's transfer to Munster, with his farewell celebrated on June 6, 2026.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 815
- Latin
- Hildesien(sis)
- Patron
- Saint Godehard
- Annuario code
- 001001594
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 616,210
- Population
- 5,349,318
- Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
- 11.5%
- Priests
- 282
- Catholics per priest
- 2,185
- Extent
- 30,000 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 21
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Bishop
- Heiner Wilmer
- Born
- 9 April 1961
- Birthplace
- Schapen
- Institute
- SACERDOTI DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ (DEHONIANI) (S.C.I.)
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Hildesheim Cathedral stands in Hildesheim, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Hamburg
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Hamburg.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of HamburgHamburg
- Diocese of OsnabrückOsnabrück
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
King Louis the Pious founded Hildesheim (Latin: Dioecesis Hildesiensis) in 815 as a missionary diocese; his son Louis the German gave the see to Ebbo, the famous former archbishop of Rheims. Today this Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany covers the parts of Lower Saxony east of the River Weser, northern neighborhoods of Bremen, and the city of Bremerhaven.
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The see's own website · Wikipedia
Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.