(11 Mar 2018) Cardinal Karl Lehmann, the former head of Germany's Catholic Bishops Conference, has died at the age of 81.
The Catholic group said in a statement that Lehmann died on Sunday at his home in Mainz.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was very sad about Lehmann's death and called him one of the most prominent faces of the Catholic Church in Germany.
Lehmann had a stroke last September and in recent days, as his death seemed imminent, Catholics across the country had prayed for him.
Lehmann was born on May 16, 1936 in the southwestern German town of Sigmaringen.
He was a professor of theology and appointed as Bishop of Mainz in 1983.
As president of the German Bishop's Conference, he led the country's more than 23 million Catholics for 20 years.
His funeral Mass is set for March 21 at the Mainz Cathedral.
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