The number of baptisms also fell from 167,787 in 2018 to 159,043 in 2019. In Bätzing's own diocese of Limburg, 9,439 people left the Catholic Church in 2019, 1,459 more than in 2018.

Bonn, Germany, Jul 14, 2021 / 07:00 am. More than 220,000 people left Catholic Church in Germany in 2020, according to official figures released on Wednesday.