Stefan Heße

On 18 March 2021, after an investigation into the handling of accusations of sexual abuse on the part of priests in the Archdiocese of Cologne criticized Heße, he announced he was submitting his resignation to Pope Francis.

In September 2021 Pope Francis rejected his resignation.

In August 2020, Heße supported ordination of women in Roman Catholic Church.

Stefan Heße is a German prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hamburg since 26 January 2015. The youngest diocesan bishop in Germany, he has often been outspoken on social and religious topics.

On 26 January 2015, Pope Francis appointed Heße the fourth Archbishop of Hamburg, following the retirement of Archbishop Werner Thissen in March 2014. His episcopal consecration took place on 14 March 2015, with his principal consecrator being Bishop of Osnabrück Franz-Josef Hermann Bode. Co-consecrators were Archbishop of Cologne Cardinal Rainer Woelki and Norbert Werbs, Auxiliary Bishop of Hamburg. At 48, he was Germany's youngest diocesan bishop.

In a September 2015 plenary council, the gathering of German bishops and other clergy focused most of the discussion on the European migrant crisis that had begun earlier that year. The plenary elected Heße as the German bishops' special envoy to the migrant crisis, which placed him in charge of the dioceses' response efforts. Among the resources placed at his disposal were 100 million euros from Catholic dioceses and charities. which were set aside as aid for refugees both in and outside of Germany, and 800 unused church-owned buildings, which were designated as housing for migrants.

On 1 August 2015, Heße called for the Catholic Church to be more realistic in regard to teachings on sexual morality. He said:

In a May 2015 interview, Heße spoke about his views regarding marriage and families:

In May 2015, Heße stated his opinions on divorce in an interview, saying:

On 1 August 2015, Heße announced that he wishes for remarried divorcees "livable forms for the Church's recognition and accompaniment," without giving up the ideal of marriage.

When asked in a May 2015 interview if celibacy is a disincentive for young men considering the priesthood, Heße responded:

In a May 2015 interview, Heße said that he thinks Pope Francis is a "fascinating person, pioneering the way for the Church and today's world. Even evangelical Christians say, 'this is my Pope.'"

In a May 2015 interview with Norbert Vojta, Heße commented that "one of the best forms of prayer for me is silence." When asked to elaborate, he stated that:

On 1 August 2015, Heße defended recent reform of the Catholic Church's Labor Law, and critiqued the position taken by some Bavarian bishops who have not fully implemented it, stating:

On 28 February 2014, Cardinal Joachim Miesner, Archbishop of Cologne, resigned and Heße was elected diocesan administrator.

On 20 September 2014, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki was installed as Archbishop of Cologne. At the ceremony, Heße was reaffirmed as Vicar General.

In regard to the role of the Archdiocese of Hamburg, Heße said that "we do not have many opportunities for development in this area," but the archdiocese had established an energy fund in 2009 containing eight million euros, five million of which had already been invested at that point. The funding was spent on 90 projects in 70 locations in the archdiocese, with efforts including the improvement of heating systems and insulation, and a shift to green electricity in parishes. The archbishop admitted that it was not satisfactory that only 25 out of around 80 parishes in the Archdiocese of Hamburg relied solely on green energy.

On 1 May 2006, Heße was appointed Deputy Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cologne. On March 16, 2012, he became Vicar General.

In 2005 Heße received the title Chaplain of His Holiness, and in 2010, the title of Honorary Prelate.

Heße was ordained on 18 June 1993 by Cardinal Joachim Meisner in the Cologne Cathedral. From 1993 to 1997 he was pastor at St. Remigius Church in the city of Bergheim. From 1997 to 2003 he was a lecturer at the Collegium Albertinum, a seminary in Bonn, while pursuing his doctorate. In 2001 he received his Doctor of Theology from the Philosophical-Theological School in Vallendar with a dissertation on Hans Urs van Balthasar, the Swiss Catholic theologian. From 2003 to 2005 he headed the Department of Pastoral Services of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Also in 2003, he took up the additional position as the archdiocesan delegate for radio and television, a post he held until 2012.

Heße was born in Cologne, Germany, on 7 August 1966. Born to a family of bakers, he grew up in the city's Junkersdorf district. He attended George Büchner Gymnasium in Cologne's Weiden district. After graduation in 1986, he studied theology and philosophy at the University of Bonn and University of Regensburg.