The world’s oldest Catholic priest has died at the age of 110 in Germany. At the time of his death on Friday, Fr Bruno Kant was also the oldest German man.
The diocese of Fulda announced that Fr Kant had passed away on Friday evening, May 29, at his retirement home in Eichenzell-Löschenrod, in the central German Hesse state.
Fr Kant had celebrated his 110th birthday on February 26 this year, receiving a personal letter of congratulations from Pope Leo XIV.
Born in 1916 in Werblin, in what was then West Prussia and now is Poland, Kant matriculated in Danzig in 1934 and began studying theology in Braunsberg and Freiburg. His studies were interrupted when he was called up for military service in 1943 and subsequently fell into Soviet captivity.
He did not return until 1948, when he resumed his studies in Fulda. He was ordained a priest in Fulda Cathedral in 1950.
Over the following decades, Fr Kant served in several parishes in the diocese of Fulda, with his longest posting — more than 30 years — at the parish of St Ägidius in Petersberg-Marbach.
He retired in 1991, but continued to carry out pastoral duties regularly until he was 102 years old.
Bishop Michael Gerber of Fulda paid tribute to Fr Kant as a priest whose witness of faith and decades of service had influenced many people across generations. “Into great old age, he radiated the humility, warmth and spiritual depth that marked his entire priestly life,” the bishop said. The diocese, he added, had lost a priest “whose life’s journey touched more than a century of Church and social history”.
In an interview given to the German Catholic news service katholisch.de in November 2025, Fr Kant explained his longevity. “I stay young through prayer,” he said, explaining that he prayed daily, read his breviary, and solved Sudoku puzzles. He also watched sports on TV< especially tennis, a sport he once played himself, and snooker.
Longevity seems to be a family trait. His grandmother lived to be almost 100, and two of his seven siblings even reached the ages of 106 and 108, respectively.
“I always had a strong faith,” he said, but admitted that he still wondered why God could permit so much foolishness, misfortune and wickedness in the world.
The square in front of the church in his final hometown of Löschenrod is named after the priest who gave more than 75 years to the priesthood.
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