Fr. Josef was born in Tesov, Archdiocese of Olomouc (Moravia), Czech Republic, on 22nd May 1951. He entered the Carmelite Order in secret during the Communist regime while he was pursuing his studies at the interdiocesan seminary in Litomerice. Fr. Josef did his masters in theology at Charles University, Prague. He was ordained to the priesthood on 25th June 1977 in Olomouc. Because religious orders were officially suppressed at the time and functioned only in secrecy, Fr. Josef ministered officially as a diocesan priest in various parishes in the Archdiocese of Olomouc. When the Communist regime fell in 1989 and religious life experienced a renewal, Fr. Josef was appointed General Delegate of the Delegation of Bohemia and Moravia. He held this office for six years and in 1997 went to Rome to specialize in Canon Law at the Lateran Pontifical University. In 1999 he obtained his Licentiate degree and a diploma in Iurisprudence et Praxis I.V.C.S.V.A. from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life as well as in Praxis Administrativa Canonica from the Congregation for the Clergy. From 1989 to 2013 Fr. Josef was a Procurator General of the Order.