10 Facts About Josef Clemens

Josef Clemens was Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity from November 2003 until it ceased operations on 1 September 2016.

Josef Clemens was personal secretary to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger from 1984 to 2003.

Josef Clemens was born on 20 June 1947 in Siegen in the Archdiocese of Paderborn.

Josef Clemens studied moral theology at the Gregorian University, obtaining a licentiate in 1976.

Josef Clemens spent the next four years working on his doctoral thesis at the Collegio Teutonico and received his doctorate in moral theology from the Gregorian in 1984.

Josef Clemens 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 with the role of personal secretary to the prefect of the congregation, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI.

Josef Clemens was given the rank of Chaplain of His Holiness on 17 March 1989 and that of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness in 1999.

Josef Clemens received his episcopal ordination on 6 January 2004 from Cardinal Ratzinger.

Josef Clemens organized two world conferences of Catholic lay organizations in Rome in 2006 and 2014.

Josef Clemens became responsible for the monastery's 40 canons, 24 parishes, and extensive property holdings and finances.