About Der Dom

Der Dom

Der Dom is the Catholic magazine of the Archdiocese of Paderborn: the "Katholisches Magazin im Erzbistum Paderborn" — appearing biweekly from the Bonifatius GmbH (Druck·Buch·Verlag) in Paderborn, with a sold circulation of 7,858 copies (IVW Q2/2025). Founded in 1946 as the Kirchenzeitung of the archdiocese, the magazine reports on the Leben, Zweifeln und Hoffen (life, doubt and hope) of the Catholics and their Church in the archdiocese — from the parish to the Vatican. After a 2020 relaunch with its own editorial team, new layout and the magazine subtitle, Der Dom presents itself as independent, first-class journalism with a critically constructive view, formulated from the people's perspective.

Overview

Der Dom is the diocesan magazine of one of Germany's largest archdioceses. The format: a biweekly Catholic magazine — the "Katholisches Magazin im Erzbistum Paderborn" — carrying the Thema der Woche (topic of the week), current issues, background reporting and the quarterly supplement DOM spezial (formerly "Dom plus"), a focus-theme booklet appearing four times a year on the topics occupying people. The readership: the Catholics of the archdiocese — many of whom, in the magazine's own words, have been accompanied by Der Dom a lifetime long, "from the first leafing through on grandma's corner bench to one's own subscription."

The editorial program — per the 2020 relaunch — reports on the life, doubt and hope of the Catholics and their Church in the archdiocese, with the content focal points of the archdiocese's Zukunftsbild (vision of the future): the vocation and responsibility of all baptized, the courage to experiment. The magazine's five subscription arguments define its positioning: independent reporting ("unabhängiger, erstklassiger Journalismus, der mit kritisch-konstruktivem Blick aus Sicht der Menschen formuliert"), uniqueness in the media landscape (backgrounds and perspectives "von denen Sie in der Tiefe und Breite sonst kaum erfahren würden"), digital advantages (comment and read-aloud functions, daily articles, digital archive), community (a competent community for whom certain values matter), and everyday strengthening (inspiring impulses "von und für Menschen mit Tiefgang").

The 2020 reader survey — conducted among subscribers at the end of December after one year of the renewed concept — found the readership had grown older with the magazine, was more satisfied than at the previous survey (end of 2019), and attested: "Der Dom hilft beim Leben als Christen und bei der Bindung zum Erzbistum" (Der Dom helps with living as Christians and with the bond to the archdiocese).

History

Der Dom was founded in 1946 as the Kirchenzeitung of the Archdiocese of Paderborn — the post-war founding that placed a Catholic weekly in the bishop's city, published by the Bonifatius GmbH, the Paderborn printing, book and publishing house rooted in the 19th-century Bonifatiusverein für das katholische Deutschland that had taken its seat in Paderborn. For decades the magazine appeared weekly as the "Kirchenzeitung des Erzbistums Paderborn," its publisher the Archbishop of Paderborn personally.

The KNA years: from January 2010 the editorial content came from the Katholische Nachrichtenagentur (KNA) in Bonn — the central Catholic news agency supplying the diocesan paper. The 2020 relaunch reversed this: in early 2020, after coordination with the archdiocese, the Bonifatius-Verlag set out on the renewal — the readers received a thoroughly renewed Kirchenzeitung with the unchanged title "Der Dom" but the new subtitle "Katholisches Magazin im Erzbistum Paderborn," the renewed content concept implemented week by week by an own editorial team of permanent and freelance journalists, in a new layout and on better paper.

The governance change accompanied the relaunch: Archbishop Hans-Josef Becker gave up the editorship tied to his person, and jointly with the Bonifatius Verlag commissioned a Beirat (advisory board) with the Herausgeberschaft — for the archdiocese, Monsignore Dr. Michael Bredeck, head of the central development department in the archbishop's vicariate general, responsible for implementing the Zukunftsbild. The editorial leadership went to Claudia Auffenberg, previously program director at the Bonifatius Verlag. The 2018 reader survey — the renewal's trigger — deserves its telling. At the end of 2018 the magazine surveyed its readers; their wishes — the moderate renewal, the fresher face, the familiar reliability — became the 2019 announcement's program: the Bonifatius Verlag and the archdiocese's leadership would implement light optical and content changes from 2020. The content focal points of the Zukunftsbild — the vocation and responsibility of all baptized, the courage to experiment — would be looked at more strongly than before: how is their implementation succeeding in the pastoral spaces and parishes, the associations and institutions? The editorial leadership would go to Claudia Auffenberg; the subtitle would change; the archbishop would hand the editorship to a board. The survey's function — the 2018's — set the relaunch in motion: the readers' wishes, the publisher's answer — the 2020 Dom.

The publishing-house history is embodied by figures like Karl Wegener — born 1954 in Etteln, trained from 1972 as an industrial clerk at Bonifatius, responsible for the Kirchenzeitung's advertising department from 1978, head of the magazine-publishing division from 1991, and from 2015 the organizational merger of magazine and book publishing — "for many, for years and decades, the personified stability of the Kirchenzeitung." The current biweekly rhythm (per Wikipedia) and the 7,858 sold copies (IVW Q2/2025) mark the magazine's present scale.

Coverage and Content

The editorial program follows the Church year and the archdiocese's agenda. The diocesan coverage — the Leben und Glauben im Erzbistum — reports on parishes, pastoral spaces, associations and institutions: the implementation of the Zukunftsbild's focal points in the Pastoralen Räume and Kirchengemeinden. The faith coverage — the Glaubensthemen — addresses the life, doubt and hope of the Catholics: the spiritual and theological reflection. The background coverage — the Hintergründe — delivers the depth and breadth "von denen Sie in der Tiefe und Breite sonst kaum erfahren würden": the classified, contextualized journalism.

The DOM spezial coverage — the quarterly supplement, four times a year — takes one focus theme per booklet: the Schwerpunktthema occupying many people. The event coverage — the Veranstaltungen and Termine im Erzbistum — keeps readers informed about upcoming events. The opinion coverage — the "Thema der Woche" — sets the weekly agenda. The digital coverage — the tagesaktuelle Artikel on derdom.de — extends the biweekly print into the daily news flow.

The formats' mix — the biweekly magazine, the quarterly DOM spezial, the daily online articles, the digital archive with comment and read-aloud functions — defines Der Dom: the Catholic magazine of the archdiocese, from the parish bench to the digital community.

Organization and Ownership

Der Dom is published by the Bonifatius GmbH (Druck·Buch·Verlag), Paderborn — the diocesan publishing house. The Herausgeber is a Herausgeberbeirat (publishing advisory board) commissioned jointly by the archdiocese and the Bonifatius Verlag — since the 2020 governance change, no longer the archbishop personally; the archdiocese's representative is Monsignore Dr. Michael Bredeck. The editorial leadership (Redaktionsleitung) is Claudia Auffenberg.

The business model follows the diocesan-press pattern: subscriptions to the biweekly magazine (the 7,858 sold copies, IVW Q2/2025), the online shop on derdom.de, and advertising. The 2020 relaunch's economics — the own editorial team, the new layout, the better paper — reflected the archdiocese's investment in the title's future. Detailed staffing and revenue figures beyond the circulation are not publicly confirmed.

Digital Presence

The magazine's digital home is derdom.de: the portal with current issues (aktuelle Ausgaben), the topic of the week, and the online shop. The digital subscription advantages — the comment function, the read-aloud function (Vorlesefunktion), the daily articles, the digital archive — extend the biweekly print into the digital daily. The site also carries the event listings and the reader dialogue ("Ihre Meinung ist uns wichtig" — the topic survey for future issues).

The digital strategy follows the diocesan-publisher logic: the print biweekly for the deep read — the magazine, the DOM spezial — the portal for the daily news flow and the archive — the articles, the shop, the community. As the Catholic magazine of the archdiocese — the Bonifatius-published title (the 1946 founding, the 2020 relaunch, the Auffenberg editorship, the Herausgeberbeirat) — Der Dom remains the archdiocese's paper: the "Katholisches Magazin im Erzbistum Paderborn," biweekly in print and daily at derdom.de.