CV NEWS FEED // The Vatican has granted Word on Fire Academic exclusive rights to publish a 25-volume English edition of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) Collected Works, introducing 2.5 million words in English for the first time.
Founder of Word on Fire Bishop Robert Barron announced the news on October 24.
“I couldn’t be prouder and happier with this eventuality,” Bishop Barron stated in the video announcing the project. “Joseph Ratzinger was a touchstone figure for me in most of my adult life,” he added.
Pope Benedict XVI is widely regarded as one of the Church’s greatest theologians. The volumes to be published will encompass all writings completed during his lifetime, including before he was elected Pope.
“We’re gonna bring out all of Ratzinger’s works,” the Bishop continued. “Even his very early doctoral works on Augustine and St. Bonaventure.”
The first work to be published by Word on Fire, according to Bishop Barron, will be “the totality of his great study of Jesus of Nazareth, which he did while he was Pope Benedict XVI.”
The rest of Ratzinger’s works will be published over the course of about 12 years, with Word on Fire aiming to release “two beautiful volumes” every year.
“My fond hope is that this project, which the Vatican has approved of, is going to keep alive the mind and spirit of this great figure, whose writings are marked by an extraordinary balance, depth, and clarity,” Bishop Barron stated.
“They’re not just of academic interest,” the Bishop added. “I think they’re of interest to anybody who is committed to the Church of Christ in the world.”
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