His father was a church books and souvenirs merchant and met his mother when she was working as a sales assistant in the Maria Laach Abbey gift shop.

[2] He entered the Trier priest seminary at the age of 18 and studied at the Gregorian and Sankt Georgen higher education ecclesiastical schools.

Ackermann would then replace the newly appointed auxiliary bishop of Trier Felix Genn as the director of St. Lambert priest seminary and in 2000 he received an ecclesiastical doctorate in church dogmatics by Jesuit Fr.

[8] The illustrated biography included images from his recent episcopal ordination and proclaimed a transition to a new period for the Diocese.

[11] In January 2011, the police informed his office that a pastor from Saarbrücken, the state capital, had allegedly abused minors.

According to the guidelines of the German Bishops' Conference, prompt action had to be taken in such suspected cases, and the priest in question could be suspended until the accusations had been cleared up; nevertheless, despite these guidelines, and despite his status as the Church's spokesman on abuse issues, Ackermann allowed one suspected paedophile to remain in office.

The priest continued to celebrate Mass and even held a dedication ceremony for a Catholic kindergarten in the summer.