Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire was selected to publish all of Pope Benedict XVI’s pre-papal writings in English, many for the first time
ROME, ITALY — Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican’s publishing house, has awarded Word on Fire Academic the exclusive English rights to Joseph Ratzinger’s Collected Works. The forthcoming series will consist of approximately five million words of Ratzinger’s writings, nearly half of which will appear in English for the first time. To date, only one volume, Theology of Liturgy, has been published in English by Ignatius Press in 2014. Working with Ignatius Press and other publishers and institutions, Word on Fire Academic will continue the series and publish the remaining twenty-four volumes in English.
Word on Fire Academic, an imprint of Bishop Robert Barron’s ministry established in 2021, strives for the evangelization of culture through scholarly publishing. It will begin publishing The Collected Works of Joseph Ratzinger in 2026, releasing two volumes per year over twelve years. These volumes will include several popular Ratzinger texts, such as Jesus of Nazareth, Introduction to Christianity, God and the World, and Daughter Zion, along with hundreds of unpublished texts.
Tracey Rowland, winner of the esteemed Ratzinger Prize for Theology and author of Ratzinger’s Faith: The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI (2008) and Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed (2010), will serve as series editor for the project. She shared the following:
The translation and publication of the Ratzinger Collected Works in English is a mammoth task, but its long-term contribution to Catholic scholarship will be immeasurable. I am delighted to be associated with this project because of the reputation of Word on Fire Academic for excellence in all things.
Dr. Jason Paone, Editor of Word on Fire Academic, added:
Joseph Ratzinger is a monumental figure of post-conciliar Catholic thought, and his insights are essential for the future of the Church as it works to implement the vision of the Second Vatican Council and live out its mission in the unprecedented circumstances of the twenty-first century. At Word on Fire Academic, we are honored to bear the responsibility and privilege of bringing Ratzinger’s corpus to the English-speaking world in this series, which will advance and preserve his legacy for generations to come.
Bishop Barron, founder of Word on Fire, commented:
The writings of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) are of inestimable value. They will serve future generations as a great repository not only of theological and spiritual wisdom, but of the history of a particular moment in the life of the Church.
During the presentation of the Ratzinger Prize in 2022, Pope Francis spoke on Pope Benedict XIV’s theology and his leadership of the Church:
[Pope Benedict XVI] taught us to see and live as communion. . . guided by the Spirit of the Lord, always open to the mission of proclaiming the Gospel and serving the world in which it lives.
Word on Fire is uniquely positioned to take on this extraordinary endeavor, having published 100 books that have sold more than six million copies worldwide. The organization has four imprints and a quarterly journal of theology and philosophy, The New Ressourcement, which has quickly garnered the most subscribers of any Catholic theology journal in the English-speaking world.
To receive updates on this project, sign up at https://wof.org/ratzinger.