Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen

What Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen does

The Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen (KGV) is the unified umbrella organization for inter-parish Catholic institutions in the city of Bremen, Germany, founded in 1990 by the Diocese of Osnabrück as a Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts (corporation under public law). It serves as the legal successor to the historical Katholische Gemeinde zu Bremen and operates under oversight of the Diocese of Osnabrück (with partial responsibility held by the Diocese of Hildesheim for the Bremen-Nord deanery). The KGV is led by Propst Dr. Bernhard Stecker and Geschäftsführer Christopher Peiler, with a central administrative office of approximately six staff at Hohe Str. 8-9.

The organization's portfolio spans five core service areas: (1) Parish Services covering mass schedules and 20+ parish communities across Bremen neighborhoods; (2) Counseling Services including Caritas Bremen, pregnancy counseling, addiction support (Kreuzbund), Malteser emergency response, Telefonseelsorge hotline, and migration/integration support; (3) Pastoral Care (Seelsorge) delivered across hospital, prison, university, police, school, seamen's mission, and emergency chaplaincies, plus 11 foreign-language missions; (4) Education and Culture through kindergartens, schools, the URBI information center in the Schnoor district, and church choirs; and (5) Press and Public Relations managed by Dr. Christof Haverkamp. Outreach channels include a TYPO3-CMS website, Facebook and Instagram accounts (kathkirchebremen), and a long-standing broadcast partnership with Radio Bremen providing daily morning devotions and Sunday mass broadcasts.

The KGV generates no commercial revenue from service fees — religious, pastoral, counseling, and educational services are provided free of charge. Funding flows from Germany's Kirchensteuer (church tax) system, collected by the state on behalf of registered Catholic members and allocated through the diocesan structure. The organization serves a fragmented customer base of registered Catholics across Bremen, including German-speaking congregants and multilingual communities (Polish, French, Arabic, English, Italian, Korean, Croatian, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, Ukrainian), with the largest single parish (St. Franziskus) holding approximately 7,600 members.

Name

Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen

Legal name

Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen

Website

https://kgv-bremen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen is the public-law umbrella organization for Catholic inter-parish institutions in Bremen, Germany. Founded in 1990 by the Diocese of Osnabrück, it coordinates 20+ parishes, counseling services, pastoral care, schools, and kindergartens serving the city's Catholic community, funded by Germany's church tax system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (81311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAJAA

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGAJAB

Denominational & Ecclesiastical Governance Bodies (Dioceses, Synods, Conferences)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

SECONDARYBPAGAJAL

Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Religious & Faith-Based Organizations

SECONDARYMPABALAN

Religious Music & Worship Broadcasting

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/Religious/Faith-Based Broadcasting

Keywords

• Religious services
• Catholic parish network
• Pastoral counseling
• Bereavement support
• Faith community ministry

Headquarters

HQ city

Bremen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Church Tax (Kirchensteuer): As a public law corporation of the Catholic Church, the KGV receives funding through the German church tax system, which is collected by the state on behalf of registered church members.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen coordinates Catholic worship services, sacraments, and pastoral care across multiple parishes in the city and state of Bremen. It also delivers specialized ministries including bereavement support, addiction counseling via Kreuzbund, victim protection/advocacy, and Polish-language Catholic mission services for Polish-speaking congregants. Devotional and ecclesiastical radio programming is broadcast via Radio Bremen as an outreach channel.

Product overview

Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen is a Catholic parish association serving as the umbrella organization for inter-parish Catholic institutions in Bremen. Founded in 1990 by the Diocese of Osnabrück due to the special pastoral situation in the city, it operates as a public law corporation. The organization offers a unified portfolio of religious and community services organized under several core areas: Parish Services (Gottesdienste and Kirchengemeinden), Counseling Services (Beratung including MAV, pregnancy counseling, Caritas, addiction support), Pastoral Care (Seelsorge covering hospital, prison, university, police, school, and emergency chaplaincy), Education and Culture (Kindertagesstätten, schools, URBI), and Press/Public Relations. Key service points include the URBI Info Center and AtriumKirche Info Center. This is not a technology product but a religious and social services organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gottesdienste (Worship Services) Regular Catholic worship services (Gottesdienste) offered to congregants across multiple parishes within the Bremen Catholic parish association.
• Sakramente (Sacraments) Administration of Catholic sacraments (including baptism, confirmation, marriage, Eucharist, anointing of the sick, and holy orders) to members of the Catholic faithful in Bremen.
• Seelsorge (Pastoral Care and Counseling) Pastoral care and spiritual counseling services offered to Catholic individuals and families, including telephone-based pastoral support, for life events, faith questions, and personal difficulties.
• Trauerarbeit (Bereavement Support) Bereavement support and grief counseling ministry for individuals and families experiencing loss, provided under the pastoral framework of the parish association.
• Kreuzbund (Addiction Support Ministry) Kreuzbund faith-based addiction recovery support groups operating under the Catholic parish association in Bremen for individuals dealing with addiction issues.
• Polnische Katholische Mission (Polish Catholic Mission) Polish-language Catholic worship services, sacraments, and pastoral care provided to Polish-speaking Catholics residing in the Bremen region, delivered through the Polish Catholic Mission affiliated with the parish association.
• Opferschutz (Victim Protection/Advocacy) Victim protection contact point and advocacy service providing confidential support and guidance for victims of abuse or harm within the Church context, operated under the Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen.
• Radiosendungen / Devotional Radio Programming Devotional and ecclesiastical radio broadcasts produced and aired via Radio Bremen, extending the parish association's pastoral reach to listeners across the region beyond physical church locations.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Bistum Osnabrück (Diocese of Osnabrück)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990The founding diocese of the KGV. Established the organization in 1990 due to the special pastoral situation in Bremen. Maintains oversight and support for Catholic operations in the city.
• Bistum Hildesheim (Diocese of Hildesheim)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecondary diocese with responsibility for part of the Catholic community in the Bremen area, particularly the deanery of Bremen-Nord.
• Radio BremencoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPublic broadcaster providing airtime for Catholic religious programming including daily morning devotions, Sunday services, and special holiday broadcasts.
• Caritas BremencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatholic charitable organization providing social services including addiction support, family counseling, and integration services, operating under the KGV umbrella.
• MaltesermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatholic emergency response and relief organization affiliated with the Order of Malta, providing first aid services, ambulance operations, and disaster response.
• Kreuzbund e.V. BremenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatholic self-help association for addiction recovery, operating cityverband Bremen with self-help groups for addicts and their families.
• Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (German Bishops' Conference)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational coordinating body of Catholic bishops in Germany, providing guidelines and resources for prevention of sexualized violence and other church policies.
• Polnische Mission Bremen (Polish Mission)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMission serving Polish-speaking Catholics in Bremen with offices at Butjadinger Str. 70, providing masses in Polish at multiple church locations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Katholisches Stadtdekanat Köln: Catholic city decanate in Cologne functioning as the umbrella body for Catholic parishes and institutions, directly comparable in role, governance structure, and service portfolio to KGV Bremen.
• Katholisches Stadtdekanat Frankfurt: City-level Catholic parish umbrella organization in Frankfurt, structurally analogous to KGV Bremen with similar responsibilities for coordinating parishes, counseling, and social services within a major German city.
• Katholisches Stadtdekanat München: Catholic city pastoral organization in Munich coordinating parishes, schools, and social services—same institutional model as KGV Bremen but operating at significantly larger scale.
• Stadtdekanat Düsseldorf: Catholic parish association in Düsseldorf operating under the same German Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts model with coordinated pastoral, educational, and charitable services.
• Katholisches Stadtdekanat Hamburg: Catholic city-level umbrella organization in Hamburg, comparable to KGV Bremen in serving a northern German city with a Catholic minority population and multilingual immigrant communities.

Broad incumbents

• Malteser Deutschland: National Catholic relief and emergency services organization affiliated with KGV; operates at much larger scale providing ambulance, disaster response, and social services across Germany.
• Deutsche Bischofskonferenz: The national coordinating body of German Catholic bishops that sets policy and guidelines for all diocesan and parish-level organizations including KGV Bremen.
• Bistum Osnabrück: The parent diocese that founded KGV in 1990; provides oversight, funding, and policy framework across multiple parish associations and institutions in Lower Saxony.
• Caritasverband für das Bistum Osnabrück: The diocesan Caritas organization affiliated with KGV's parent diocese, providing the broader social services infrastructure (addiction, family counseling, integration) that KGV coordinates locally.

Regional players

• Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche in Bremen: The Protestant counterpart operating in the same city as KGV Bremen, serving as the regional Lutheran church body with analogous parish coordination, pastoral care, and church tax funding structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kathkirchebremen
• Instagraminstagram.com/kathkirchebremen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/katholischer-gemeindeverband-in-bremen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Katholischer Gemeindeverband in Bremen