Germany's Catholic bishops elect Marx as leader

Associated Press
Archbishop of Munich and Freising , Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising smiles as he delivers a speech after being elected to his new post as chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, during the general meeting of the German Bishops' Conference in Muenster, Germany, Wednesday March 12, 2014. (AP Photo/dpa,Rolf Vennenbernd)

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's Catholic bishops have elected Cardinal Reinhard Marx as their new leader.

The German bishops' conference elected the cardinal, who is the archbishop for Munich and Freising, at their meeting Wednesday.

The 60-year-old is one of the youngest members of the nearly 200-strong College of Cardinals. Last year Pope Francis appointed him to a panel of cardinals recommending possible reforms of the church's central government.

Marx studied theology and philosophy in Germany and France before his ordination as a priest in 1979. Marx became bishop of Paderborn in 1986, of Trier in 2002, and Munich since 2008.

He succeeds Freiburg Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, who is retiring at age 75.