Bertram Meier grew up in Kaufering. After graduating from high school, he studied philosophy and theology in Augsburg and Rome. In 1985 he was ordained priest in Rome, and in 1989 he received his doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
From 1996 to 2001 he was head of the German-language department in the Vatican Secretariat of State. In 2000 he was elected a canon in Augsburg and from 2002 to 2014 he headed the departments for the World Church, ecumenism, religious orders and vocations of the Church in the diocese of Augsburg. From 2007 to 2020, he served as cathedral preacher at Augsburg Cathedral. In 2012, the cathedral chapter elected him as cathedral dean.
From 2002 to 2011, Bertram Meier was chairman of the Association of Christian Churches (ACK) in Augsburg. From 2005 he represented the seven Bavarian Catholic dioceses on the board of the ACK in Bavaria, and from 2013 to 2021 he was its first chairman. In 2011, Bertram Meier was elected by the German Bishops’ Conference for a term of five years as advisor to the Sub-Commission for Mission Issues.
Also in 2011, Bishop Dr Konrad Zdarsa made him head of the Department of Church Life in the Episcopal Ordinariate. In 2014, he was made head of the Episcopal Pastoral Office and director of the St. Ulrich Conference Hotel. In addition, Bishop Konrad Zdarsa appointed him episcopal vicar for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.
Bertram Meier was consecrated Bishop of Augsburg on 6 June 2020. Within the German Bishops’ Conference, he is chairman of the Commission for the Universal Church and the Sub-Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, as well as a member of the Ecumenical Commission.
Speaker
Bishop Bertram Meier
Bishop of Augsburg
Moderator
Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General, Religions for Peace
Welcome Remarks by Religions for Peace Co-Moderators and Youth Representative
Dr. Vinu Aram, Director, Shanti Ashram; Co-Moderator, Religions for Peace
Rev. Kosho Niwano, President-Designate, Rissho Kosei-Kai; Co-Moderator, Religions for Peace
Ms. Lyka Mtambo, Youth Representative, Public Affairs Committee; Member, International Youth Committee
Welcome Remarks by German Host Country Representative
Ms. Anna-Nicole Heinrich, President of the Synode of the Protestant Church
Bishop Dr. Bertram Meier, Bishop of Augsburg
Keynote Speeches
HRH Prince EL Hassan Bin Talal, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies; Honorary President, Religions for Peace
H.E. Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, United Nations Office of Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect
H.E. Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth
H.E. Mr. Nasreldin Mofreh, Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments, Sudan
H.E. Ms. Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, U.S. Department of State
H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al-Mamari, Under Secretary for the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs, Sultanate of Oman
Dr. Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, Minister of Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Ms. Ana-Maria Daou, Head of the Research and Courses’ Unit, Adyan Foundation; Deputy Coordinator, Religions for Peace International Youth Committee (Lebanon)
Music
Maestra Zhang Zhang, Violin
