Kammala wannan jumla: An haifi Woelki a ranar 18 ga Agusta, 1956 a Cologne, daya daga cikin 'ya'ya uku na iyayen da aka haife su
An kore shi daga Gabashin Prussia a karshen yakin duniya na biyu. Ya yi karatun falsafa da ilimin tauhidi a Jami'o'in tauhidi na jami'o'in Bonn da Freiburg im Breisgau. A ranar 14 ga Yuni 1985 Cardinal Joseph Höffner ya naɗa shi firist na Archdiocese na Cologne.