Msgr. Georg Austen confirmed in office as Secretary General of the Bonifatiuswerk
Permanent Council of the German Bishops’ Conference approves the Bonifatius Council’s vote
Monsignor Georg Austen, who celebrated his 67th birthday on Wednesday, will continue to serve as Secretary General of the Bonifatiuswerk, the Catholic aid organization of Germany. The Permanent Council of the German Bishops’ Conference has endorsed the decision of the Bonifatius Council, the supervisory body of the aid organization. With this confirmation, Monsignor Austen begins his fourth term in office.
Monsignor Austen views his reappointment as a special sign of appreciation and confidence. “I am grateful for the trust placed in me, for the committed cooperation with the committees and staff at Bonifatius House, and for the positive feedback on projects that we are able to support with the help of our donors. With my experience and passion, and to the best of my ability, I will continue to work for the people living in the diaspora. It is important to me that, as an aid organization for faith and solidarity, we help shape a Church of today for tomorrow amid all the changes, a Church in which people feel that faith is a blessing for them personally and for the unifying community,” said Monsignor Austen. He added that a key task is to continually raise awareness of the needs and challenges of believers in the diaspora as a global Church, to support them, and to seek dialogue with those of different beliefs and faiths.
Prior to the Permanent Council’s decision, the Bonifatius Council unanimously re-elected the leadership of the aid organization, consisting of a chief executive officer – the Secretary General – and a Managing Director. As a result, Ingo Imenkämper (58), a business graduate and tax advisor, will remain in office, having served as Managing Director of the Bonifatiuswerk since 2020. The Permanent Council also approved the Bonifatius Council’s recommendation to set the customary retirement age at 70. Manfred Müller, President of the Bonifatiuswerk and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said: “Monsignor Austen has, in recent years, further developed the Bonifatiuswerk as an aid organization for faith and solidarity, as well as an organization supporting Catholic Christians in the diaspora, with innovation and great creativity, and has realigned it with a view to the Church of tomorrow. His extraordinary commitment and passion, as well as his extensive network in the Church, business, politics, and culture, distinguish him. I am very pleased that Monsignor Austen will remain with us as Secretary General and that we can continue with him on the successful path we have taken together. I am equally pleased that Mr. Imenkämper will also remain with us as Managing Director. After all, the interests of an aid organization must be managed wisely.”
In addition to his role as Secretary General of Bonifatiuswerk, which he has held since 2008, Monsignor Austen is Managing Director of the Diaspora Commission of the German Bishops/Diaspora Aid of Priests, a role in which he will also continue. In 2008, he was named a Papal Chaplain (Monsignor) by Pope Benedict XVI, and in 2011 he was appointed to the College of Consultors of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. Monsignor Austen is an advisor to the Subcommittee on Missionary Issues of the Commission for the Universal Church of the German Bishops’ Conference, as well as a member of the Conference for the Universal Church and the Central Committee of German Catholics. In 2016, he was appointed a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis, and in 2023 he became a consultor to the newly established Dicastery for Evangelization, Department for Fundamental Questions of Evangelization in the World.
Author: Matthias Band – Photo: Hartmut Salzmann
