Archbishop of Paderborn takes oath of loyalty in the State Chancellery. Pope Francis appointed Bentz as the successor to the retired Hans-Josef Becker in December 2023.
The 56-year-old was previously an auxiliary bishop in Mainz. Bentz will be officially inaugurated into office on March 10th in Pader born Cathedral. The area of the archdiocese with around 1.4 million Catholics extends over large parts of Westphalia into the Ruhr area.