In Germany, the changeover continues as, about one week since the consecration of his archdiocese’s third auxiliary bishop, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch retires as Metropolitan Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau. The archbishop reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 about a month ago, so this acceptance of his resignation is pretty swift. It is not, however, a complete and immediate cut-off.
Archbishop Zollitsch will continue managing the affairs of the archdiocese as Apostolic Administrator until a successor has been appointed. He will also complete his current term as president of the German Bishops’ Conference, which will end in March of 2014.
In the Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau, which covers the former state of Baden and province of Hohenzollern in southwest Germany, the search will now begin for a successor to Archbishop Zollitsch, who has been the ordinary since 2003. According to the concordat between Baden and the Holy See, the cathedral chapter will elect the new archbishop from a list of three candidates, which includes at least one prelate from the Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau. The list itself is drafted by the Holy See from the names that the retired archbishop has submitted every year.
Photo credit: Andreas Gerhardt / Erzbistum Freiburg
In Caelo et in Terra 
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