St. Clement was born in 1751, in Moravia (Czech Republic).  Though he felt called to be a priest lack of funds delayed this.  In Rome in 1784 he joined the Redemptorists and after his ordination (aged 35) he went to Warsaw.  There he opened the first Redemptorist house outside of Italy and the scene of a very fruitful apostolate for twenty years.  After his expulsion from Warsaw he moved to Vienna where he live for the next twelve years and worked untiringly to have the Redemptorists established in Austria.  Thanks to St. Clement the Redemptorists are now found in seventy seven countries around the world.  He died on 15th March 1820.

St. Clement was born in Tasovice (Tasswitz), Moravia - the present Czech Republic - on 26 December 1751 to Peter Paul Dvořak (Slav) and Maria Steer (German).  In baptism he received the name of John (his Czech name was Jan Dvořak - in German translation: Johannes Hofbauer).  Clement is the "religious" name he took as a hermit, and by this name he is known to posterity and which we will use in this account of his life.

The death of his father in 1757 reduced the family to such poverty that Clement had little time for schooling in his early years.  In 1767, when he was fifteen years old he left home to serve his time as a baker in Znojmo (Znaim).  The following year he went on his first pilgrimage to Rome with his friend Peter Kunzmann.  Three years after leaving home (1770) he moved to the Premonstratensian Abbey of Klosterbruck (near Znojmo) as a journeyman in the monastery's bakery and here he received some education in return.

From time to time between 1775 and 1782 Clement lived as a hermit in several places.  About the time he was thirty he lived as a hermit in Tivoli near the chapel of Quintiliolo, about 25 kms. northwest of Rome, for six months.  It was during his sojourn in Tivoli that he changed his name to Clement Mary.

On his return to Vienna the generosity of friends enabled him to study in the university.  In 1784, disgusted with the sort of Enlightenment theology being taught there he makes another pilgrimage to Rome, with his friend Thaddeus Hübl, where they apply to join the Redemptorists.  After a shortened novitiate they both professed their Redemptorist vows on 19 March 1785 and ten days later they were ordained priests.

With Father Hübl, Clement returned to Austria, hoping to establish the Redemptorist Congregation in Vienna but the political situation did not allow them to remain so they moved on to Poland.  On their journey to Poland, the two new Redemptorist priests were joined by Peter Kunzmann (now Emmanuel, he too changed his name when in Tivoli with Clement).  He became the first Redemptorist Brother from outside Italy.  Together they arrived in Warsaw without a coin in their pockets; Clement had given the last three silver coins to beggars along the way.  They met with the apostolic delegate, Archbishop Saluzzo, who put them in charge of St. Benno's Church to work with the German-speaking people of Warsaw.  As they learned Polish the Redemptorists expanded their apostolate to the people who lived in the area of St. Benno's.  There he inaugurated a vigorous pastoral activity and drew a rapid increase of candidates to join the community.  The church of St. Benno became the scene of a "perpetual mission" with each day a busy program of preaching, instruction, confessions, and devotions.

There were also orphanages and schools for both boys and girls.  To keep the children fed and clothed, he had to beg constantly.  He did so unashamedly.  On one occasion, legend has it that he went begging to a local pub.  When Clement asked for a donation, one of the patrons scornfully spat beer into Clement's face.  Wiping off the beer, he responded, "That was for me.  Now what do you have for my boys and girls?"  The men in the bar were so astounded by the Christ like response that they gave Clement more than 100 silver coins.

During the years 1795-1807 Clement travelled much, on foot, through Switzerland and Germany, attempting new foundations but without avail.  He even spent a 106 days imprisonment in the Dominican Priory in Krakow (1798) for a violation of immigration laws.

By the year 1800 the growth could be seen both in the work at the church and in the membership of the Redemptorist community.  Reception of the sacraments jumped from 2,000 (in 1787) to over 100,000.  The number in the community serving at St. Benno's had grown to 21 Redemptorist priests and seven Brothers.  There were also five novices and four Polish seminarians.

Almost from the start, they had been attacked on two fronts.  Politically they were foreigners.  They could mix with the people and do much good, priestly work.  They could care for hundreds of orphans, celebrate Masses, and bring tens of thousands closer to God, but the German Redemptorists remained a foreign element in a country that was constantly at war.

The other attack was even more painful.  It was a personal attack by the people who turned from the Church of their baptism to become Freemasons.  They met together in their secret groups to plot against the Catholics, to do harm to the priests, to stop public worship, and to close the churches.

The Redemptorists always had to be on the watch for ambushes.  Their enemies lay in wait to pelt them with rocks or club them with sticks.  Even more shattering to Clement was the death of Father Thaddeus Hübl, his classmate and dear friend.  Hübl was called away on a phoney sick call.  Many hours later he was tossed out of a fast-moving carriage after having been tortured and beaten to a pulp.  Several days later he died from his injuries.  It hurt Clement deeply to see his friend pass from his life.

In 1806 a law was passed that forbade local pastors to invite the Redemptorists to preach missions in their parishes.  An even more restrictive law that stopped the Redemptorists from preaching and hearing confessions in their own church of St. Benno followed this.

The activities of the community continued until 1808, when at the order of Napoleon, St. Benno's was closed and its community dispersed.  The decree of expulsion was signed on June 9, 1808.  Eleven days later, the Church of St. Benno was closed and the forty Redemptorists serving there were taken off to prison.  They lived there for four weeks and then were ordered to return to their own countries.

With one companion Clement established himself in Vienna, where he remained until his death twelve years later.  As chaplain to the Ursuline convent and church he exercised an extraordinary influence throughout the city and much further afield.  In particular he was able to advise and encourage some of the most important personages of the new Romantic Movement as well as others who were working for the Catholic revival in German-speaking lands.  Clement enjoyed spending time with the students and the intellectuals.  Students came – singly and in groups – to his quarters to talk, share a meal, or get advice.  A good many of them later became Redemptorists, including Frederick von Held, who became a Redemptorist and later spread the Congregation as far as Ireland.

As mentioned above, Clement repeatedly attempted to extend the Congregation, especially in South Germany and Switzerland.  But he did not live to see this.  His prayers were answered only a few weeks after his death when the Redemptorists received permission to begin a community.  From this community the Redemptorists spread throughout northern Europe and into North and South America.

St. Clement died in Vienna on March 15, 1820.  When Pope Pius VII heard the news he declared: "Religion in Austria has lost its chief support."  Redemptorists venerate him as their greatest leader for spreading their apostolate throughout the world.

Clement Hofbauer was beatified on January 29, 1888, by Pope Leo XIII.  He was canonised a saint on May 20, 1909.  In 1914, Pope Pius X gave him the title of Apostle and Patron to Vienna.  Today, more than 180 years after his death, the yearly feast of Saint Clement is remembered in a very special way by the people of Vienna and the almost six thousand priests and Brothers throughout the world who wear the Redemptorist habit just as Saint Clement did.

What made Clement Hofbauer a saint?  He performed no miracles to dazzle us, received no visions or ecstasies to overawe us.  He even had faults – a quick German temper, a tendency to be gruff.  Yet, if we could have spent a few hours in his presence, we would have found him to be a man of unusually strong faith, a man of extraordinary calm and peace, and a man who could work tirelessly for souls.

Simplicity was the chief characteristic of his sanctity.  He accepted the will of God as it came to him, and did all the good that he was capable of doing.  He led a life of innocence and service devoting himself to glorifying God and drawing others to serve him.  In the very simple way that he became holy, Saint Clement is a model for all people.