--- description: An inquiry into the German Bishop's 31-million euro residence has sent the spender offender to the block title: Pope Francis Fires The German 'Bling Bishop' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Vatican](/tag/vatican/) ## Vatican Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pope Francis Fires German 'Bling Bishop' by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2014 12:08 PM CUT by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 26, 2014 12:08 PM CUT Pope Francis has [replaced](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU%5FREL%5FVATICAN%5FGERMAN%5FBISHOP?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined") a German bishop whose $43 million new residence complex sparked outrage among Catholics. The so-called ‘Bishop of Bling,’ Monsignor Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst from Limburg was temporarily expelled during a church inquiry in October, the Associated Press reports. Tebartz-van Elst spent lavishly renovating his residence, including a reported $20,000 on a bathtub and $620,000 on artwork. That inquiry has now found him incapable of holding his diocese and demanded his resignation, the Vatican said Wednesday. Tebartz-van Elst will be replaced by Monsignor Manfred Grothe. Tebartz-van Elst will get a new job, said the Vatican, adding that the pope hoped that residents of Limburg would accept the decision with “docility and willingness to rediscover a climate of charity and reconciliation.” Pope Francis has emphasized charity and addressing social inequality since taking his seat in the Vatican last March. He is due to meet with President Obama Wednesday. \[[AP](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU%5FREL%5FVATICAN%5FGERMAN%5FBISHOP?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/38336/pope-francis-bling-bishop-fires/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/38336/pope-francis-bling-bishop-fires/"},"headline":"Pope Francis Fires German 'Bling Bishop'","datePublished":"2014-03-26T12:08:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:58:09.153Z","description":"An inquiry into Monsignor Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst's $43 million residence has ended with the Vatican demanding his resignation","url":"https://time.com/38336/pope-francis-bling-bishop-fires/","keywords":["Vatican","Pope Francis topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/vatican/","name":"Vatican"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/38336/pope-francis-bling-bishop-fires/","name":"Pope Francis Fires German 'Bling Bishop'"}}]}] ```