When Bruno Kant was born, Germany was ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm II and was in the middle of the First World War. He experienced the Weimar Republic, National Socialism, the Second World War, Germany’s division and reunification. Inventions such as television, computers and the Internet changed the world around him.

“I don’t understand God, what he wants to do with me”

The fact that he reached this old age is a mystery to Bruno Kant. “I don’t understand the good Lord that I’ve gotten so old and what he plans to do with me,” said Kant at a small celebration before his actual birthday, for which some relatives and companions had gathered in the little house in Eichenzell in eastern Hesse where Kant lives.

The retired Catholic priest is still mentally fit and trains his brain with number puzzles. No Sudoku is too difficult for him, reports his niece Beate Kant. The 110-year-old needs a walker and has a pacemaker, In addition, his poor hearing bothers him.

Beate Kant therefore repeatedly leans towards his “good” right ear and explains to her uncle in a clear voice what is being said over coffee and cake. Bruno Kant treats his poor hearing with humor.

“I’m hard of hearing,” he says. “The good Lord up there doesn’t hear anything anymore,” says the very old man about his wish to be able to say goodbye after so many years on earth. There is a smile on his lips.

At the age of 102, Kant was still making house calls

Kant enjoys watching sports broadcasts on television. He prefers watching tennis, which he once played himself, as well as chess and the billiard variant snooker, as the pastor of Eichenzell, Guido Pasenow, explains. And of course also TV church services. For Kant, watching television is just as much a part of his daily routine as praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Breviary.

“At the age of 100, Bruno Kant was still standing at the altar here in Eichenzell-Löschenrod and celebrating Holy Mass,” says Pastor Pasenow. At 102, Kant, who only moved to Eichenzell when he was very old, was still making house calls and, for example, bringing Holy Communion to sick parishioners.

It is important for the 110-year-old that he has been able to remain in his familiar surroundings in Eichenzell to this day, where he is lovingly cared for by his Polish carer and has a regular daily routine, says his niece Beate. “Otherwise he would not have reached this old age.” The 71-year-old takes care of everything for her uncle, for example with the authorities and the health insurance company.

What is the 110-year-old’s secret?

A deep belief in God, a consistently regular daily routine and fruit and vegetables from the parish garden: is this Bruno Kant’s recipe for a long life? The very old man himself doesn’t know.

Maybe it’s the genes. Niece Beate Kant knows that Bruno Kant’s grandmother lived to be almost 100 years old and two of his seven siblings lived to be 106 and 108 respectively.

Kant was taken prisoner by the Soviets during World War II

Bruno Kant was born in Werblinia (Werblin in German) near Danzig and also speaks Polish, which makes it easier for him to communicate with his Polish supervisor. As a soldier he was taken prisoner by the Soviets. “It’s still incomprehensible to me today that I survived. I expected death back then,” he remembers. He can’t stand the current TV news about Russia’s war in Ukraine; it upsets him too much.

After his release from captivity, Kant continued his theology studies and was ordained a priest in Fulda in 1950. He worked as a pastor in Petersberg-Marbach in East Hesse for around 30 years before finally moving to Löschenrod, where a retirement home for pastors had become available.

A square was named in his honor

The retired pastor enjoys a high reputation in the community. “Despite his old age, he is very present in people’s hearts,” says Mayor Johannes Rothmund (CDU). The Löschenroders renamed the square in front of the Catholic church “Pfarrer-Bruno-Kant-Platz” in honor of the very old man.

Bruno Kant looked forward to his birthday with mixed feelings. The modest man doesn’t like it when a lot of fuss is made about him, as Pastor Pasenow explains.

When a few cameras stood in front of the small house on Bruno Kant’s 110th birthday, hands were shaken and congratulations were sent, the very old man welcomed the well-wishers with humor and friendliness, despite the hustle and bustle that he was and is never really comfortable with. Pastor Pasenow says: Kant always finds great joy in visiting the altar boys on his birthdays.