Biography of Joachim Wanke

Joachim Wanke (born 4 May 1941 in Breslau; died 12 March 2026 in Erfurt) was a German Roman Catholic cleric, New Testament scholar and bishop of Erfurt. He led the church territory of Erfurt for more than three decades and in 1994 became the first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Erfurt.

Breslau and Ilmenau

Joachim Christian Wanke was born in Breslau. His father died in 1944; in 1945 the family came to Ilmenau after expulsion from Silesia. Wanke grew up there and finished school in 1959. In 1960 he began theological studies in Erfurt. The Catholic Church in Thuringia then lived in a mostly non-Catholic environment and under the conditions of the GDR.

Priest and exegete

On 26 June 1966 Wanke was ordained a priest in Erfurt Cathedral. He then worked in pastoral ministry and theological training. From 1974 he taught New Testament exegesis at the Philosophical-Theological Study in Erfurt; in 1975 this became a lectureship, and in 1978 he took over the chair. His theological work remained closely connected with the interpretation of Scripture.

Episcopal ministry

In 1980 Pope John Paul II appointed Wanke auxiliary bishop in Erfurt-Meiningen. After Hugo Aufderbeck's death in 1981, he took charge of the then Episcopal Office of Erfurt-Meiningen. In the last years of the GDR he therefore stood at a church intersection of pastoral care, state pressure, ecumenical contacts and social change.

Diocese of Erfurt

On 8 July 1994 the Diocese of Erfurt was established, and Wanke became its first diocesan bishop. He accompanied the building of the diocese after German reunification, supported the Theological Faculty in Erfurt and worked in bodies of the German Bishops' Conference. In 2011, during his term, the diocese received Pope Benedict XVI in Erfurt and Etzelsbach.

Erfurt

His resignation was accepted on 1 October 2012. Joachim Wanke died in Erfurt on 12 March 2026. He was 84 years old. His path remains connected with the Catholic Church in Thuringia: with scriptural study, diaspora pastoral care, rebuilding after 1990 and a bishop's office that carried responsibility across reunification.