The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Horst Eberlein as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Hamburg (area 32,493, population 5,717,000, Catholics 399,943, priests 235, permanent deacons 68, religious 201), Germany. The bishop-elect was born in 1950 in Walsleben/Altmark, Germany, and was ordained a priest in 1977, in the diocese of Osnabrück. He studied philosophy and theology in Erfurt and has served in a number of pastoral roles, including deputy priest in Wittenburg and Neubrandenburg, pastor of the St. Norbert parish in Friedland, and of St. Elisabeth in Hagenow, before being transferred to Christusgemeneinde in Rostock in 1996. In 2000 he was named Chaplain of His Holiness. He is currently prevost of St. Anna in Schwerin (since 2009) and non-resident canon of the Metropolitan Chapter of Hamburg (since 2015).