Overview

The first volume of Peter Seewald's long awaited, authoritative biography of Pope Benedict XVI. By any reckoning, the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI was extraordinary, with moments of high drama. Not the least of these was his resignation from office in February 2013, the first papal resignation in almost 600 years. But who was Joseph Ratzinger? In this definitive biography, based on meticulous historical research and many hours of taped interviews with his subject, Peter Seewald shows the exceptional circumstances in which the exceptionally talented son of a Bavarian policeman became the first German pope for 950 years. In this first volume, covering the years 1927–1965, we witness Joseph Ratzinger’s early days, living above his father’s police station. Ratzinger came to adulthood through the years of National Socialism. Though hostile to the rise of Hitler, his family knew well about Dachau and Ratzinger himself was conscripted into the Hitler Youth. Joseph Ratzinger proved to be a man of exceptional intellectual gifts and by the time of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) he was already noted as one of the outstanding intellects present and was nominated a ‘peritus’ or theological expert. This was also the time of the start of his friendship with the Swiss theologian Hans Küng who was to become his nemesis. Of his predecessor, Pope Francis has said: ‘Pope Benedict was a great Pope, great for the penetration of his intelligence, great for his important contribution to theology, great for his love of the Church and human beings, great for his virtues and faith’. Even in this first volume, we begin to understand how this came to be true.

Full Product Details

Author:   Peter Seewald
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Continuum
Weight:   0.926kg
ISBN:  

9781472979193

ISBN 10:   1472979192
Pages:   512
Publication Date:   10 December 2020
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

List 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

Reviews

Stimulating ... Readers will enjoy the thorough investigation of Ratzinger's intellectual development * Publishers Weekly *

Author Information

Peter Seewald has worked as a journalist for Stern, Spiegel and the Süddeutsche Zeitung and is one of the most admired authors on religion in Germany today. His previous book of interviews with Pope Benedict Last Testament was widely reviewed in the religious and international press.

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