Josef Clemens (born 20 June 1947 in

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region. The university town (nearly 20,000 students in the 2018–2019 winter semest ...

) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

bishop. He was Secretary of the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their co ...

from November 2003 until it ceased operations on 1 September 2016. He was personal secretary to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

) from 1984 to 2003.

Biography

Josef Clemens was born on 20 June 1947 in Siegen in the

Archdiocese of Paderborn The Archdiocese of Paderborn is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany; its seat is Paderborn.Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

and studied theology at the

Collegium Germanicum The Collegio Teutonico (German College), historically often referred to by its Latin name Collegium Germanicum, is one of the Pontifical Colleges of Rome. The German College is the Pontifical College established for future ecclesiastics of German ...

in Rome, where Cardinal Hermann Volk ordained him to the priesthood on 10 October 1975 in the church of

Sant'Ignazio la, Ecclesia Sancti Ignatii a Loyola in Campo Martio , image = Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome.jpg , imagesize = 300px , caption = Façade of Sant'Ignazio , mapframe =yes , mapframe-caption ...

. He studied moral theology at the Gregorian University, obtaining a licentiate in 1976. Returning to Germany, he was substitute parish vicar at St. John the Baptist in Bielefeld-Schildesche in 1976-1977; parish vicar at St. Joseph of Dortmund from 1977 to 1980; and then taught religion at the Max Planck high school in Dortmund from 1978 to 1980. He spent the next four years working on his doctoral thesis at the

Collegio Teutonico The Collegio Teutonico (German College), historically often referred to by its Latin name Collegium Germanicum, is one of the Pontifical Colleges of Rome. The German College is the Pontifical College established for future ecclesiastics of German ...

and received his doctorate in moral theology from the Gregorian in 1984. He then joined the Roman Curia as first secretary and then, before the end of 1984, study assistant of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

with the role of personal secretary to the prefect of the congregation, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future

. He was given the rank of

Chaplain of His Holiness A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments.Honorary Prelate of His Holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Clemens Under-Secretary of the

Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL; la, Congregatio pro Institutis Vitae Consecratae et Soci ...

. On 25 November of the same year, he was appointed Secretary of the

and Titular Bishop of Segermes. He received his episcopal ordination on 6 January 2004 from Cardinal Ratzinger. As Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, he organized several

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, sometimes nicknamed in later years as the "Catholic Woodstock". Its concept has been influenced by the Light-L ...

celebrations: Cologne (2005), Sydney (2008), Madrid (2011), Rio de Janeiro (2013) and Krakow (2016). He also organized two world conferences of Catholic lay organizations in Rome in 2006 and 2014. His tenure at the Pontifical Council for the Laity ended when that body was suppressed and its functions taken over by the newly established

Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Pope Francis announced its creation on 15 August 2016, effective 1 September 2016. It took over the functions and responsibilities of the Pontifical Council for the La ...

on 1 September 2016. On 1 June 2018, the new dicastery issued its report on the Church and sport, which had been years in development under Clemens. In November 2020, Clemens was named papal delegate to

Klosterneuburg Monastery Klosterneuburg Abbey or Monastery (german: Stift Klosterneuburg) is a twelfth-century Augustinian monastery of the Roman Catholic Church located in the town of Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria. Overlooking the Danube, just north of the Vienna city ...

in Austria, an Augustinian institution troubled by charges of sexual abuse. He became responsible for the monastery's 40 canons, 24 parishes, and extensive property holdings and finances.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemens, Josef German Roman Catholic titular bishops 1947 births Living people Officials of the Roman Curia Pontifical Council for the Laity Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany