Today the German Diocese of Görlitz bade farewell to its first bishop, Rudolf Müller, who had passed away on Christmas Day at the age of 81. A priest since 1955. Bishop Müller was appointed to head the Apostolic Administration of Görlitz in 1987. He became the first ordinary when Görlitz became a diocese in 1994. In 2006 he retired.
The Requiem Mass at the cathedral of St. James was offered by Rainer Cardinal Woelki, archbishop of Berlin, together with Görlitz’s current ordinary, Bishop Wolfgang Ipolt. Bishop Leopold Nowak, emeritus of Magdeburg, gave the homily, while the Apostolic Nuncio to Germany, Archbishop Jean-Claude Périsset, Bishop Norbert Trelle of Hildesheim, representing the German Bishops’ Conference, and Bishop Stefan Cichy of Legnica, Poland, also attended.
Bishop Müller’s death was sudden, despite his advanced age. Bishop Cichy said of the deceased: “Bishop Rudolf remains in my memory as a joyful man who liked to sing, a good neighbour and a true friend.”
Photo credit: www.bistum-goerlitz.de/
In Caelo et in Terra 