Karl Cardinal Lehmann (born May 16, 1936 in Sigmaringen) is a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop of Mainz and chairman of the Congregation of the German Bishops (German: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz). May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sigmaringen is a city in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, formerly Hohenzollern, capital of the Sigmaringen district. ... A cardinal is an official of the second-highest rank of the Roman Catholic Church, inferior in rank only to the Pope. ... The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian body, with over 1. ... Between 780/82 AD and 1802 AD the Archbishop of Mainz, was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince of the middle ages. ...

After school, Karl Lehmann studied philosophy and theology at the Albert Ludwigs Universität in Freiburg and the Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum, a famous seminar for priests in Rome. He reached two academical degrees at the papal university Gregoriana. In 1968 he became professor at the Johannes-Gutenberg Universität in Mainz. From 1971 until 1983 he was professor at the Albert Ludwigs Universität in Freiburg. Freiburg city from Schlossberg Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Breisgau region, on the western edge of the southern Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald) with about 200,000 inhabitants. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Map of Germany showing Mainz Mainz (French: Mayence) is a city in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Freiburg city from Schlossberg Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Breisgau region, on the western edge of the southern Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald) with about 200,000 inhabitants. ...

He was elected Bishop in 1983 and confirmed by the Pope that same year. On 2 October 1983 he was consecrated by his predecessor Hermann Cardinal Volk in Mainz Cathedral. 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Catholic Church. ... October 2nd is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mainz Cathedral Mainz Cathedral, formally known as or Mainzer Dom in German, is located near the historical center of Mainz, Germany. ...

In 1987, he became chairman of the Congregation of the German Bishops. He was reelected in 1993, 1999 and 2005. On 28 January 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed him cardinal. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death, making his the third-longest reign in the history of the Papacy according to the... The following were the cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave. ... The Papal conclave of 2005 began on April 18, 2005 and ended the next day after four ballots. ... Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: ; born April 16, 1927 as Joseph Alois Ratzinger in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany) is the 266th reigning pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City. ...