Benedict: The Saint and the Popes

Eleven days after presiding at the Funeral Mass for Pope John Paul II, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope.  Upon his election, Cardinal Ratzinger took the name “Benedict XVI” to serve as Pope. Ratzinger became the 16^th Supreme Pontiff to bear the name of Saint Benedict, a man whose faith and life in the pursuit of Christ’s ideal initiated a spirituality and devotion to God that resonates to this day. 

It is difficult to summarize the spiritual impact that St. Benedict had upon Europe in just a few words. St. Benedict did not invent monasticism, nor was he the first to develop a Rule of Order for monasteries.  St. Benedict took monasticism in new spiritual directions, reforming it and fostering its growth.  His order devoted itself to teaching children, feeding the poor, preaching the Gospel, serving the sick and infirmed, and honoring the Father through prayer and worship. Under St. Benedict’s example and his Rule of Order, monasteries and monks spread Christianity and preserved European civilization.  With its piety and simplicity, St. Benedict’s Rule was widely adopted and followed.  As Church historian H. W. Crocker III has written, “He is the consummate example of the best of the Church” (100).

In his first General Audience as Pope held on 27 April 2005, Pope Benedict XVI reflected upon St. Benedict’s importance in European history and Catholicism.   He said:

The gradual expansion of the Benedictine Order that he founded had an enormous influence on the spread of Christianity across the Continent. St Benedict is therefore deeply venerated, also in Germany and particularly in Bavaria, my birthplace; he is a fundamental reference point for European unity and a powerful reminder of the indispensable Christian roots of his culture and civilization.

(See https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20050427.html

Sixteen Popes adopted the name ‘Benedict.’  Prior to Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger’s election, the most recent one to do so was Giacomo della Chiesa (Pope Benedict XV).  He was elected Pope just a month after Europe had plunged into World War One.  His passionate and untiring efforts for peace were all but ignored by the ruling elite of the belligerent powers.  Several points of his August 1917 plan for peace were co-opted without attribution by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson as the basis for his own “celebrated” Fourteen Points some six months later.

Joseph Ratzinger was born on 16 April 1927 in Marktl am Inn in Lower Bavaria, Germany.  He grew up in Nazi Germany amidst persecutions of the Jewish people and the Catholic Church and the devastation of World War Two.  Near the end of the war, 16-year-old Joseph was drafted into military service and fortunately survived the experience.   After studying for the priesthood, he and his brother Georg were both ordained on 29 June 1951.  Father Joseph earned a Doctorate in Theology in 1953.  For the next 20 plus years, Father Ratzinger served as a university professor, and ultimately as Dean and Vice-Rector of the University of Regensburg.  During the Second Vatican Council, he served as chief theological advisor for Josef Cardinal Frings, Archbishop of Cologne.  In 1977, Pope St. Paul VI appointed him as Archbishop of Munich and Freising and soon after, elevated him to Cardinal.  On 25 November 1981, Pope St. John Paul II appointed him as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.  For the next 24 years, Cardinal Ratzinger served in several other key roles within the Roman Curia, including as President of the Commission for Drafting the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  On 30 November 2002, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected as Dean of the College of Cardinals.  When he was elected Pope on 19 April 2005, he was the second consecutive non-Italian Pope. 

 His official Vatican biography is online at https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/biography/documents/hf_ben-xvi_bio_20050419_short-biography-old.html

Cardinal Ratzinger’s Mass for the Inauguration of his Papacy was held on 24 April 2005.  During his Homily, he memorialized his immediate predecessor, Pope John Paul II and asked for the prayers for his service as Pope.  He also reiterated one of the important theme’s of Pope John Paul II’s Homily when he began his Papacy in 1978.  Pope Benedict XVI said:

 “And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.” 

 (See https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20050424_inizio-pontificato.html )

In his first General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI explained that he chose the name Benedict because of St. Benedict and Pope Benedict XV.  Of the latter, Pope Benedict XVI said:

"I wanted to be called Benedict XVI in order to create a spiritual bond with Benedict XV, who steered the Church through the period of turmoil caused by the First World War. He was a courageous and authentic prophet of peace and strove with brave courage first of all to avert the tragedy of the war and then to limit its harmful consequences. Treading in his footsteps, I would like to place my ministry at the service of reconciliation and harmony between persons and peoples, since I am profoundly convinced that the great good of peace is first and foremost a gift of God, a precious but unfortunately fragile gift to pray for, safeguard and build up, day after day, with the help of all."

Pope Benedict XVI became Pope at time when Europe had been in serious spiritual decline for many years.  In his 2005,  book Memory and Identity, Pope St. John Paul II summarized Europe’s spiritual growth and post-Enlightenment decline.  “So-called ‘Enlightened’ European thought tried to dissociate itself from this God-Man, who died and rose again, and every effort was made to exclude him from the history of the Continent,” he wrote.  “This approach still has many stubbornly faithful adherents among thinkers and politicians of today”(97).   Writing soon after Pope Benedict XVI’s election in the Catholic weekly Our Sunday Visitor, moral theologian Pia de Solenni wrote “There’s no doubt that the Catholic faith is doing better just about everywhere else in the world except Europe.” 

Numerous popes throughout history have drawn inspiration from St. Benedict.  Pope St. Gregory the Great included him in his Dialogues, describing his miraculous deeds and faith.  Pope Pius XII called him “the Father of Europe.”  Pope Paul VI declared him to be Europe’s patron saint. Sixteen popes have taken his name. Of those Benedict popes, one has been canonized (Pope St. Benedict II) and another was beatified (Blessed Pope Benedict XI).  In 1979, Pope St. John Paul II exhorted Europe to follow St. Benedict’s example.  In 2005, a new Pope drew inspiration from St. Benedict to renew Europe.

[Sources:   Pope John Paul II’s  Memory and Identity:  Conversations at the Dawn of a Millennium.  NY:  Rizzoli, 2005.; H.W. Crocker III’s Triumph:  The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church (NY:  Prima Publishing, 2001); Pia de Solenni’s “Pope Benedict XVI could bring hope back to Europe.”  Our Sunday Visitor:  8 May 2005:  13.; ]