The German Bishops' Conference has appointed Fr Clemens Blattert SJ (Frankfurt am Main) as the new director of the Centre for Vocations Pastoral (ZfB). At the same time, this Centre supported by the bishops will be moved from Freiburg to St. Georgen (Frankfurt am Main), thus linking youth and vocation pastoral ministry more closely at the national level.

Bishop Dr Felix Genn (Münster), Chairman of the Commission for Spiritual Vocations and Church Services thanked Fr. Blattert SJ for his willingness to take on the new task on 1 August 2021 and Provincial Fr. Bernhard Bürgler SJ for releasing Fr. Blattert SJ: "I am very pleased that with Fr. Blattert we have been able to win an experienced vocation guide for young people and a creative priest for this task. The SJ Future Workshop (Zukunftswerkstatt SJ) of the Jesuits in Frankfurt has established itself as an outstanding location for vocational guidance of young people. The ZfB will benefit from being in the same location in the future." In addition to the support and networking of the diocesan offices for vocation pastoral and a promotion of spiritual vocation guidance, the networking between youth and vocation pastoral is to be ensured in the future through a separate position in the office for youth pastoral (afj). In his post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Christus vivit”, Pope Francis expressly desired the connection of youth and vocation pastoral care.

"We Jesuits are happy to say yes to this interesting cooperation with the German Bishops' Conference in the area of pastoral care for vocations," emphasises Provincial Fr Bernhard Bürgler SJ. "Pope Francis has written four Universal Apostolic Preferences for the coming years into our Jesuits' diaries. The third preference is: “To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future”. With the development of a vocation campus for a renewed pastoral care of vocations in Germany, a courageous and innovative offer for the accompaniment of young people is emerging. For this we Jesuits gladly make ourselves available."