Within just a few weeks, two member churches of the Union of Utrecht have elected new bishops. In the Netherlands, Erna Peijnenburg was elected Bishop of Haarlem, while in Germany the Electoral Synod today elected Jürgen Wenge as the new bishop of the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany.
On 29 August 2026, the Electoral College of the Old Catholic Diocese of Haarlem elected the Rev. Erna Peijnenburg (1967) as the 19th Bishop of Haarlem. She succeeds Bishop Dick Schoon, who retired in June. Peijnenburg’s election has since been confirmed by the International Old Catholic Bishops’ Conference (IBC). Her episcopal consecration will take place on 10 October in the Grote or St Bavo Church in Haarlem.
Peijnenburg studied theology at the Catholic Theological University in Amsterdam and worked for many years as a pastoral worker in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2011 she joined the Old Catholic Church and was ordained to the priesthood in 2013. She subsequently became parish priest in Alkmaar and currently also serves the parish of Enkhuizen.
On 3 October, the extraordinary diocesan synod meeting in Karlsruhe elected the Rev. Jürgen Wenge (1962), parish priest of the Old Catholic parish in Cologne, as the new bishop of the German diocese. He succeeds Bishop Matthias Ring, who stepped down at the beginning of September.
Wenge studied Catholic theology and philosophy in Münster and Munich and was ordained to the priesthood in 1989. He joined the Old Catholic diocese in 1996. After serving for ten years as parish priest in Offenbach, he became parish priest in Cologne in 2006. From 2010 until 2020 he served as Vicar General of the diocese.
Wenge’s election must now be confirmed by the International Old Catholic Bishops’ Conference in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Union of Utrecht.
