Joseph Wendel (May 27, 1901 – December 31, 1960) was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1952 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.

Wendel was ordained to the priesthood on October 30, 1927, and then did pastoral work in Speyer, also serving as director of Caritas, until 1941.

[1] Wendel became known as the "Bishop of Peace" following the war because of his efforts to restore West Germany's good will[2] Pope Pius XII named him Archbishop of Munich and Freising on August 9, 1952 (three Bishops of Speyer have become Archbishop of Munich and Freising, the others being Michael von Faulhaber and Friedrich Wetter), and created him Cardinal Priest of S. Maria Nuova in the consistory of January 12, 1953.

The German prelate also made gestures of ecumenism to Protestants,[3] and organized the International Eucharistic Congress in Munich in 1960.

Shortly after delivering his New Year's Eve sermon, Wendel died from a heart attack in Munich, at age 59.