Cardinal Karl Lehmann, Bishop of Mainz, Germany, has announced that a noticeable increase in the number of people joining the church has been seen.

This increase has been attributed to the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of the German, Pope Benedict XVI as his successor.

Lehmann, speaking at a bishop’s conference in Berlin, reported that in the period from May to June more people returned to his diocese than in the whole of 2004.

His diocese is not the only one to report such an increase, but all over Germany increases in attendances are being recorded, also in Limburg.

In response to the sudden rise in church attendants, the presider of the German Bishop’s Conference pointed to the touching events in Rome around the time of Pope John Paul II’s death. This was not just a "short emotional moment", he said, but rather something with "definite sustainability".

He also went on to say that this is an opportunity that must be exploited fully and called for a more stepped up engagement with the German populace through youth and community work.