The President of KAAD

Born in Bonn in 1951, Langendörfer entered the Jesuit Order in 1972 and was ordained priest in 1979. He did his doctorate under Franz Böckle on ethical questions of security policy and, after a period as scientific advisor in the Federal Chancellery, built up the Jesuit Foyer in Bonn as well as the European Department in the DBK Secretariat. From 1996 to January 2021 he was the executive secretary of the DBK as well as managing director of the Association of the Dioceses of Germany(VDD).

Since his stay at Georgetown University, Langendörfer has remained connected to the international academic world through his involvement in projects and lectures on numerous international journeys. Langendörfer speaks several languages and in the course of his first year at KAAD was already able - despite the pandemic - to gain an in-depth insight into the work of the funding organisation. Even  with partners and alumni in different parts of the world he established contacts in a variety of ways. He appreciates KAAD as a service to a young, academically highly qualified elitte that distinguishes itself through a high level of social responsibility in the context of the Global Church.