Klaus Mertes

Klaus Mertes (born 1954) is a German Jesuit priest, ordained in 1986. He studied Slavic studies and classical philology, followed by philosophy and theology after entering the Jesuit order. From 1990 he taught religion and Latin; he served as rector of Berlin’s Canisius College from 2000 to 2011 and as director of the Jesuit College in St. Blasien from 2011 to 2020. During his tenure as rector, he brought cases of abuse and concealment at Canisius College to public attention in 2010. Mertes worked as an editor for the journal Stimmen der Zeit, served as editor-in-chief of Jesuiten, and published several books.