Last week, Bishop Franz Jung presented the nine new deans of the Diocese of Würzburg with the certificates of appointment at a service in Kilians Cathedral in Würzburg. The new head of the Deanery Haßberge was also there: Christian Lutz. The diocese reported on this in a press release.
Nine new deans in the diocese
The deans jointly made the promise to Bishop Jung to perform their service conscientiously and faithfully, according to the letter from Würzburg. The bishop then had the documents of appointment for Pastor Christian Lutz (Deanery Haßberge) and Cathedral Pastor Stefan Gessner (Deanery Würzburg), who was still active in the Deanery Haßberge until the beginning of the year. Pastors Martin Heim (Deanery Aschaffenburg), Stephan Hartmann (Deanery Bad Kissingen), Gerhard Spöckl (Deanery Kitzingen), Simon Mayer (Dean Main-Spessart), Michael Prokschi (Dean Miltenberg), Andreas Krefft (Dean Rhön) were also appointed deans -Grabfeld) and Stefan Kömm (Deanery Schweinfurt). The term of office of the deans is five years.
In his sermon the bishop drew a parallel between the solemn festival and the new deaneries. The Maria Immaculata is shown in artistic representations without the baby Jesus on her arm. “But their inner readiness is a necessary prerequisite for preparing the way for God into this world.” Similarly, the ideal situation has not yet been reached with the establishment of the new deaneries. “But they describe a space within which we want to reposition ourselves,” said Bishop Jung, according to the announcement. In the coming years it will be important to network as a church and to look for cooperation partners, for example with a view to ecumenism.
Proof of confidence and great expectations
The election as dean was a great vote of confidence that the nine pastors were shown, writes the diocese. At the same time, the election was also linked to the expectation that the new deans would represent the interests of the faithful and employees and bring them into the diocesan decision-making processes. The bishop himself expects the deans to act as role models. It is about networking within the pastoral rooms of the deanery, providing support where external help is required, and representing in order to represent the deanery at the level of the district or urban districts.
Challenge in turbulent times
He is aware that the task as dean, in addition to the usual pastoral tasks, is a real challenge in these eventful times, the paper quotes the bishop. The new dean’s offices are there to help the deans. In addition, the deanery team for full-time employees and the deanery forum for volunteers are on hand with advice and action.
What are deans and deaneries?
Dean are priests who preside over a deanery, i.e. an association of several neighboring pastoral rooms determined by the bishop. They lead their deanery on behalf of the bishop and in cooperation with the deanery team.
Goal of the Dean’s Office is to promote pastoral care through joint action. This is done, among other things, by networking the pastoral rooms with one another, representing the diocese in the deanery or the deanery vis-à-vis the diocese and other social figures, maintaining ecumenical contacts at the deanery level and dealing with interreligious issues.
Source: Diocese of Würzburg
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