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meFor the first time, a woman assumes the direction of the secretariat of the German Catholic Episcopal Conference. The bishops elected Beate Gilles as the conference general secretary and general director of the Association of German Dioceses (VDD) at their spring general assembly on Tuesday. On July 1, Gilles, 50, will succeed Hans Langendörfer, who retired in early January 2021 after 24 years.
The conference president, Bishop Georg Bätzing, described the election as a strong signal “that the bishops are keeping their promise to promote women in leadership positions.” Gilles is considered a deep theologian, strongly connected in the various structures of the Catholic Church and equipped with the best organizational skills. With the change of the title of “Secretary General of the German Bishops’ Conference” an adjustment to the international circumstances takes place, mainly because the ecclesiastical law uses this terminology.
Gilles spoke of a challenging phase, “but also exciting for the Catholic Church in Germany.” Something new had begun with the reform dialogue of the Synodal Way. “This process will allow me to quickly learn about the differentiated Catholic landscape,” he said.
Gilles, born in 1970 in Hückeswagen in Bergisches Land, studied Catholic religious studies and German at the University of Bonn from 1989 to 1995. In 2000 he completed his doctorate with a thesis on liturgical studies on the transmission of divine services in the media. . From 2000 to 2010, Gilles was Managing Director and Managing Director of Katholisches Bildungswerk Stuttgart. Since 2010 she has been the department head for children, youth and families in the Diocese of Limburg. She has also been the honorary federal president of IN VIA Germany, the Catholic association for girls’ and women’s social work, since 2020.
