Joana Drießen has been serving as a pastoral assistant at Paderborn Cathedral since 11 January. This is the first time that a lay pastoral worker has joined the Metropolitan Chapter of the Archdiocese. Drießen, 36, is originally from Hagen-Hohenlimburg. She studied religious education in Paderborn and has since worked as a pastoral assistant, including in the Archdiocese of Cologne for some time. In an interview with katholisch.de, she speaks about her responsibilities at the cathedral, how she has been received in her new role, and her perspective on working with the cathedral canons and vicars. “The provost of the cathedral explicitly requested a lay member”, explains Drießen, who will replace a priest with her work. “This is something new and significant, because there has never been a lay person in the Metropolitan Chapter in Paderborn before. This means that the position has been created from scratch”. The pastoral assistant will take over the spiritual leadership of the women’s choir, manage the altar servers and other volunteers at the cathedral, oversee the pastoral care of the three episcopal schools in Paderborn, and follow the baptismal ministry of the cathedral parish: “A process of structural change is underway”, Drießen explains, “because there are fewer full-time priests and not all churches can be maintained”.