Leo Nowak

Leopold Nowak (17 March 1929 – 12 April 2026) was a German Roman Catholic prelate who was the first bishop of the newly re-erected Roman Catholic Diocese of Magdeburg, Germany, from 1994 until 2004.

Biography Nowak was ordained a priest on 10 May 1956 for the Archdiocese of Paderborn. On 12 February 1990 he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Magdeburg and the Titular Bishop of Cissa. He was created bishop on 24 March 1990. The main consecrator was Johannes Braun, his predecessor as Apostolic Administrator of Magdeburg, and co-consecrators were Johannes Joachim Degenhardt and Theodor Hubrich. On 27 June 1994 he was appointed bishop of Magdeburg and installed on 9 October 1994. Following canon law, Nowak offered his resignation to the pope in 2004, upon reaching the age of 75. He retired as bishop of Magdeburg on 17 March 2004. He was succeeded by Gerhard Feige.

Nowak died on 12 April 2026, at the age of 97, due to complications following surgery.

Awards Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Order of Merit of Saxony-Anhalt