Originally, the inauguration was for the 28th. June was planned but it will be brought forward by a week for "scheduling reasons."
On Thursday, Pope Leo XIV had appointed the former Hildesheim bishop Heiner Wilmer as the new bishop of Münster.
The Chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) will thus take over the most member-seeking diocese of Germany in the future.
Until the inauguration, the previous diocesan administrator Antonius Hamers heads the diocese.
Hildesheim vacant a week early
The postponement of the date also has an impact on Wilmer’s previous diocese of Hildesheim: With Wilmer’s assumption of office in Münster, the Bischofsstuhl in Hildesheim is automatically vacant.
This is now happening a week earlier than originally planned.
Wilmer has headed the North German Diocese since 2018.
The originally planned date for Wilmer's takeover in Münster, the 28th. June, is the day before the Solemnity of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
Paul is patron of the Diocese of Münster and the cathedral there.
Wilmer's appointment on Thursday already fell on the high festival of the Münster diocese founder Liudger.
In his inaugural address, the future bishop drew parallels between his life and the life of the first bishop of Münster.