Catholic Church Pope approves resignation of St. Gallen bishop
Pope Francis has already responded to the letter of resignation submitted by the Bishop of St. Gallen on August 9. This marks the beginning of the search for a successor to Bishop Markus Büchel. Büchel will remain in office until this process has been completed.
15.08.2024, 16:07
SDA
In its statement, the diocese of St. Gallen expressed its "surprise at how quickly Pope Francis has initiated the new election". Just last week, Bishop Markus Büchel offered his resignation on the occasion of his 75th birthday.
The election of a new bishop is a unique process in the diocese of St. Gallen. The cathedral chapter, a 13-member electoral body in the diocese of St. Gallen, now has three months to prepare for the election, the press release continued.
During this time, church groups as well as the church members of the diocese will express their views on what qualities the new bishop should have.
The cathedral chapter will then draw up a list of six candidates. After an examination by the Vatican, the cathedral chapter finally elects the new bishop. Prior to this, the Catholic Church Parliament still has the option of designating three of the six candidates as "less approved", as the diocese wrote in the press release.
Bishop since 2006
Markus Büchel was consecrated bishop in St. Gallen in 2006. He is considered close to the people. In 2023, following the publication of a Switzerland-wide study by the University of Zurich, he admitted mistakes in the investigation of cases of sexual abuse.
