Description
Book SynopsisThe long-awaited and authoritative biography of Pope Benedict XVI, a giant of the Catholic Church.
Benedict XVI: Volume One offers insight into the young life and rise through the Church''s ranks of a man who would become a hero and a lightning rod for Catholics the world over. Based on countless hours of interviews in Rome with Benedict himself, this much-anticipated two-volume biography is the definitive record of the life of Joseph Ratzinger and the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI.
Volume I follows the early life of the future Pope, from his days growing up in Germany and his conscription into the Hitler Youth during World War II to his career as an academic theologian and eventual Archbishop of Munich. Volume II, to be published in 2021, will cover his move to Rome under Pope John Paul II, his ascension to the papacy, and his controversial retirement and news-making statements under his successor, Pope Francis I.
This necessary companion to Benedict''s own memoir, Last Testament, is the fullest account to date of the life of a radical Catholic leader who has continued to make news while cloistered in retirement in the Vatican gardens.
Trade ReviewStimulating ... Readers will enjoy the thorough investigation of Ratzinger’s intellectual development, * Publishers Weekly *
Seewald artfully weaves together politics, church history, philosophy, and theology to show how these influenced and shaped the man who would become Pope Benedict XVI ... An engaging portrait that engrosses the reader in the subject. * Library Journal *
This massively researched, well-written biography of Joseph Ratzinger, a.k.a. Pope Benedict XVI, runs to a thousand pages and tells the reader everything one could want to know about Benedict’s life and pontificate. * The Catholic Register *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Foreword PART ONE: THE BOY 1. Easter Saturday 2. The Impediment 3. The Dreamland 4. 1933: ‘Holy Year’ 5. The ‘German Christians’ 6. With Burning Concern 7. The Calm before the Storm 8. The Seminary 9. War 10. Resistance 11. The End
PART TWO: THE MASTER STUDENT 12. Zero Hour 13. The Scholars’ Mountain 14. Guilt and Atonement 15. Upheaval in Thinking 16. The Glass Bead Game 17. Augustine 18. Storm and Stress 19. The Key Reading 20. The Major Orders 21. The Curate 22. The Examination 23. The Abyss 24. The New Heathens and the Church
PART THREE: THE COUNCIL 25. A Star is Born 26. The Network 27. Council 28. The Battle Begins 29. The Genoa Speech 30. The Spin Doctor 31. The World on the Brink 32. Seven Days That Changed the Catholic Church For Ever 33. German Wave 34. Power Sources 35. In the School of the Holy Spirit 36. The Legacy
Notes Index
