Resignation and succession of bishop of Hpa-an, Myanmar
Appointment of bishop of Münster, Germany
Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Nairobi, Kenya
Resignation and succession of bishop of Hpa-An, Myanmar
The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Hpa-An, Myanmar, presented by Bishop Justin Saw Min Thide.
He is succeeded by Bishop Stanislaus Min-Ko, until now coadjutor bishop of the same diocese.
Appointment of bishop of Münster, Germany
The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Heiner Wilmer, S.C.I., hitherto of Hildesheim, as bishop of Münster, Germany.
Curriculum vitae
Bishop Heiner Wilmer, S.C.I., was born on 9 April 1961 in Schapen, diocese of Osnabrück. He studied philosophy and theology in Freiburg and Paris. After joining the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians), he was ordained a priest in 1987.
After ordination, he studied philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and history in Freiburg, and was awarded a doctorate in theology from the University of Freiburg. He served as a teacher in various Catholic schools in Germany and New York, and held the offices of rector of the Gymnasium Leoninum a Handrup (1998), provincial of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Germany (2007-2015), superior general (2015-2018), and chair of the Commission for Social Issues of the Bishops’ Conference of Germany.
He was appointed bishop of Hildesheim on 6 April 2018, and received episcopal ordination the following 1 September. Since 2026 he has been president of the Bishops’ Conference of Germany.
Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Nairobi, Kenya
The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Fr. Obed Muriungi Karobia, O.F.M. Conv., until now supreme moderator of the Franciscan Servants of Mary Queen of Love public association of the faithful of the diocese of Ngong, assigning him the titular see of Timida.
Curriculum vitae
Msgr. Obed Muriungi Karobia, O.F.M. Conv., was born on 29 June 1979. He studied philosophy at Saint Bonaventure College in Lusaka, Zambia, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in theology from Tangaza College, Kenya.
He joined the Friars Minor Conventual, and was ordained a priest on 28 July 2012.
He has held the following roles: parish vicar (2012-2013) and parish priest (2013-2016) of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Nairobi; head of vocations in the Custody of the Friars Minor Conventual of Kenya (2012-2019), formator and bursar of the House of Formation of his Institute in Nairobi (2016-2019), provincial minister of the Kenyan Province of the Friars Minor Conventual (2019-2023), and president of the African Federation of Friars Minor Conventual (2020–2023). He is a PhD candidate in psychology at Daystar University, Nairobi, and since 2024, on appointment by the Dicastery for Evangelization, supreme moderator of the Franciscan Servants of Mary Queen of Love public association of the faithful in the diocese of Ngong.
