This month, the Word on Fire Institute will conduct a week-long event in honor of Pope Benedict XVI. The event will take place entirely online via the Word on Fire Institute platform and will run from Monday, May 5, to Friday, May 9. Several world-class leaders in Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI scholarship will participate. Each session will last about an hour, with the last ten minutes or so dedicated to viewers’ questions. (All times given are in Central Time.)
On the first day, there will be two sessions. I will kick off the event from 11 a.m.–12 p.m, speaking on “A Theology of Communion,” which is a reference to the subtitle of my book published last year, The Mind of Benedict XVI: A Theology of Communion. From 12:15–1:15 p.m., Rev. Aaron Pidel, SJ, will present. Fr. Pidel teaches fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Notably, he is the author of The Inspiration and Truth of Scripture: Testing the Ratzinger Paradigm, published by CUA Press. The topic of his presentation is “Encountering the Beauty of Holiness in Scripture.”
On Tuesday, May 6, two professors who have both written multiple books on the thought of Benedict XVI will present. Dr. Matthew Ramage will present from 11 a.m.–12 p.m. His topic is “Living the Experiment of Faith: How to Live the Theological Virtues in a Secular Age.” Impressively, Dr. Ramage has published five books on the thought of Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, including his most recent, The Essential Guide to Ratzinger: The Man and His Message. At 6 p.m., Dr. Tracey Rowland will present on “Pope Benedict XVI’s Theology of Culture.” Dr. Rowland’s academic accomplishments are numerous: She currently holds a professorship at the University of Notre Dame (Australia) and has published over 150 articles and eight books. Two of her books are about Benedict XVI: Ratzinger’s Faith: The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI and Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed. She also served on the Vatican’s International Theological Commission (2014–2019), and in 2020, she was a recipient of the Ratzinger Prize for Theology.
On Wednesday, May 7, there will be three sessions. First, from 10–11 a.m., Dr. Alexis Kutarna will discuss “Joseph Ratzinger and Sacred Music.” She has graduate degrees in both music and liturgy, including a PhD in liturgical studies. Dr. Kutarna teaches at the University of St. Thomas in Houston and is the coauthor of Solemnities: Celebrating a Tapestry of Divine Beauty. From 12–1 p.m., we have the privilege of learning from Dr. Peter Casarella, from whom I was blessed to take three courses as a graduate student. He has taught at several prestigious universities, including the Catholic University of America, the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN), and currently Duke Divinity School. He has coedited numerous collections and is the author of Word as Bread: Language and Theology in Nicholas of Cusa. Finally, from 2–3 p.m., we will hear from the editor of Word on Fire Academic, Dr. Jason Paone. He will speak about an exciting project recently undertaken by Word on Fire Publishing: the English publication of the collected works of Joseph Ratzinger.
On Thursday, May 8, we will have three topics, one of which will also be delivered in Spanish in a fourth session. Fr. Emery de Gaál, PhD, will kick off the day at 11 a.m. with a presentation on “Joseph Ratzinger and Christology,” which—as the author of The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI: The Christocentric Shift—is something Fr. de Gaál knows well. He authored a second book about Pope Benedict as well: O Lord, I Seek Your Countenance: Explorations and Discoveries in Pope Benedict XVI’s Theology. Fr. Emery de Gaál is a priest of the diocese of Eichstätt in Germany. He currently serves as professor of dogmatic theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Illinois. His first book was on St. Anselm of Canterbury, and he has published over 100 articles and reviews in scholarly journals in different languages. From 1–2 p.m., Dr. Roland Millare will speak on “The Liturgical Transformation of Culture and the Cosmos: Joseph Ratzinger’s Theology of Liturgy,” a fitting topic for Dr. Millare, who authored A Living Sacrifice: Liturgy and Eschatology in Joseph Ratzinger. He has also published various peer-reviewed and popular publications and teaches in a number of capacities for multiple institutions. He serves as the vice president of curriculum and the director of clergy initiatives for the St. John Paul II Foundation (Houston, TX). Fr. Luis Granados, DCJM, will present in both English and Spanish on Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est. The English lecture will begin at 3 p.m. and the Spanish at 7 p.m. Originally from Madrid, Fr. Granados is a Disciple of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and resides in Stamford, CT. He serves as the head of Stella Maris Catholic Preparatory School. He is also an adjunct professor at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, NY, and a faculty fellow at Franciscan University of Steubenville. His doctorate is in moral theology.
On Friday, May 9, at 11 a.m. “The Regensburg Address” will commence with Dr. Patricia Pintado-Murphy. She holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of America and a licentiate in philosophy from the University of Navarre (Spain) as well as a licentiate in theology. She has taught at a number of academic institutions, including CUA, the Athenaeum, and now at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. She recently translated Ratzinger’s 1959 inaugural lecture at the University of Bonn, which was published in the Summer 2024 issue of Nova et Vetera (English edition).
This lineup of speakers is truly stellar! I hope all Word on Fire Institute members will avail themselves of these presentations. For those who cannot watch them live, they will be available for later viewing on the Institute platform. If you are not a member, now is a great time to consider joining.