Jacques Clemens (11 July 1909 – 7 March 2018) was a Dutch

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

. He was the

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of The Bultia (

Ham-sur-Heure-Nalinnes Ham-sur-Heure-Nalinnes (; wa, Han-so-Eure-Nålene) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Ham-sur-Heure-Nalinnes had a total population of 13,529. The land area is , which gives a populatio ...

, Belgium) from 1958. Between 2016 and his death on 7 March 2018, at the age of 108 he was thought to be the oldest living priest.

Biography

Early life

Jacques Clemens was born on 11 July 1909 in The Hague, Netherlands. After his

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

and studies in philosophy, he studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

at the

Diocesan Seminary of Liège The Diocesan Seminary of Liège (in French: ''Séminaire épiscopal'' or ''Grand Séminaire de Liège''), now also Espace Prémontrés, is an educational institution in the Diocese of Liège, founded in 1592. History The seminary was first founde ...

and was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Liège Cathedral Liège Cathedral, otherwise St. Paul's Cathedral, Liège, in Liège, Belgium, is part of the religious heritage of Liège. Founded in the 10th century, it was rebuilt from the 13th to the 15th century and restored in the mid-19th century. It beca ...

on 5 July 1936.

Career

He was a teacher at the

Seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...

Gerpinnes Gerpinnes (; wa, Djerpene) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 the municipality had 12,660 inhabitants. The total area is 47.10 km², giving a population density of 269 inhabitants p ...

(now St. Augustine College). In 1944 Clemens was appointed

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

(south of

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

) and

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

at The Bultia, a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

in the village without its own place of worship. The Church of Saint-Benoît was completed in 1957 and on 1 January 1958 Clemens officially became the first

of the new

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

, remaining there for 67 years.

Later life

Clemens's health deteriorated following a fall at the age of 102 and he decided to reduce his activities. He retired in 2015 but continued to provide religious services on Sundays. He celebrated his 108th birthday on 11 July 2017, dying at that age by March 7, 2018.

References

1909 births 2018 deaths Dutch centenarians Men centenarians Dutch expatriates in Belgium 20th-century Dutch Roman Catholic priests Clergy from The Hague {{RC-clergy-stub