Fritz Lobinger (born 22 January 1929) is 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 has 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. Biography Fritz Lobinger was born on 22 January 1929 in Passau He was ordained as a priest in Regensburg on June 29, 1955. As a seminarian in Regensburg in 1953, Lobinger together with and Oswald Georg Hirmer, determined to serve in the foreign missions. He arrived in Aliwal, South Africa, in 1956. Oswald Hirmer followed in 1957 and Hubert Bucher in 1958. All three of them would spend the rest of their lives in South Africa and become bishops. Lobinger launched his extensive writing career in 1963, publishing with Hirmer as co-author Africa’s Way to Life, a catechism based on their experience of African culture and designed for the instruction of adult candidates for baptism. The two colleagues were also the first missionaries in more than a century to encourage the use of traditional Xhosa musical styles in creating church songs. From 1970 to 1986, Lobinger worked at the Lumko Missiological Institute, the Pastoral Institute of the Episcopal Conference for the implementation of Second Vatican Council in South Africa. Lobinger’s early interest was in developing a system of "trainer catechists" to develop lay leadership, recognizing that a catechist plays a far greater role in the local community than his title suggests. He found models of lay engagement in Anglican and Methodist parishes. He visited Brazil several times to study the work of education theorist Paolo Freire. He produced training materials and lead training sessions throughout South Africa. At Lumko, Lobinger contributed significantly to the development of the pastoral model of small Christian communities, including the model of , a method of Bible study that has implications for liturgical ministry, catechesis, social projects, and the institution of the local church. He completed his doctorate in theology in 1986. On 18 November 1987, Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of the Diocese of Aliwal. He received his episcopal consecration on 27 February 1987 from Wilfrid Fox