Current politics

Who could succeed Cardinal Christoph Schönborn

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn is arranging his succession.(Bild: APA/EXPA/Michael Gruber)

We all know that the fisherman's shoes are big. But so are those of the Cardinal and Archbishop of Vienna. Like Franz Cardinal König before him, Christoph Schönborn has left his mark on the church in Vienna and - if the regional bishops will forgive me - the entire country. His successor will soon be announced. There are several candidates. 

Schönborn's era will only be worthily and correctly classified in church history with the necessary distance. Today it can be clearly stated that Schönborn eluded the usual conservative-here, progressive-there divisions. He is a great intellectual and a philanthropist at the same time, the likes of which are rarely or never seen in combination.