World’s oldest priest says strict routine basis of long life

Clemens, who has also celebrated his 80th anniversary as a Catholic priest, gets up every morning at 5.30 a.m. and goes to bed at 9.00 p.m.

A woman gives father Jacques Clemens a thumbs up during a mass at St. Benoit church in Nalinnes, Belgium, July 10, 2016.
A woman gives father Jacques Clemens a thumbs up during a mass at St. Benoit church in Nalinnes, Belgium, July 10, 2016.

When Clemens was about to retire at 75, his bishop asked him to remain in service until they found a successor – he only stopped holding regular church services at his parish in the southern Belgian village of Nalinnes last year.