Fritz Lobinger

Fritz Lobinger was a German prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career as a missionary in South Africa where, as head of the Lumko Missiological Institute, he developed the concepts of small Christian communities and Bible sharing. He was Bishop of Aliwal from 1987 to 2004. He advocated the ordination of teams of married men as priests to serve communities that otherwise lack regular access to the sacraments, with their functions designed to distinguish them from celibate priests. He is credited with shaping "a new vision of a participatory Church rooted in local culture and leadership."