German Bishops' Conference
The Institute was founded in 1970 by the German Bishops' Conference under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen. The founding director was the Jesuit Joseph List, supported by Heiner and Karl Eugen Schlief Marré. Since 1975, it has been run by the Association of German Dioceses (German: "Verband der Diözesen Deutschlands", or VDD).