In a solemn tribute to Pope Benedict XVI, EWTN broadcast on December 30th and 31st, a special conference commemorating the first anniversary of the late pope’s passing, in the Campo Santo Teutonico adjacent to Saint Peter’s Basilica.   

Organized in partnership with the Ratzinger Foundation and the Fundatio Christiana Virtus, the conference gathered scholars, experts, and friends of Joseph Ratzinger to discuss not only the late pope’s life and work, but also his profound impact on the Church and society. 

The conference opened on the morning of December 30th with a session entitled “Benedict XVI, Memory and Legacy,” during which the former students of the young Joseph Ratzinger Professor Vincent Twomey and Father Federico Lombardi spoke about the late pope’s contributions to theology and the ecclesiastical life.   

In the following session entitled “The Center of His Theology: Jesus Christ,” Professor Matthew Bunson and Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller delved into the Christological essence of Benedict XVI’s theological work.   

Cardinal Müller, Cardinal-Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, emphasized that, “Joseph Ratzinger’s entire Christology and piety for Christ is a unique testimony to Jesus who leads us in our faith and brings us into perfection. […] Christianity is not a theory but a relation to a person, our Savior.” 

The first day of the conference concluded with a third session entitled “His Death in the Light of Eternal Life” during which Cardinal Kurt Koch and Professor Ralph Weimann spoke about Pope Benedict XVI’s views on eternal life.   

Cardinal Kurt Koch, Cardinal Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, recalled the final words uttered by Pope Benedict and said, “Eternal life means definitively entering into the community of God and loving Him, as Pope Benedict XVI expressed in his last words before his death: ‘Lord, I love you.’”  

The conference culminated in a solemn celebration of Holy Mass at the Altar of the Chair in Saint Peter’s Basilica presided by Archbishop Georg Gänswein on the following morning, marking the anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s passing. After the Mass, the Archbishop spoke about the late pope’s last years and final days.  

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Personal Secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, realized that Pope Benedict practiced what he had preached and taught with his theology. “The main thing I learned,” reflecting on the last years of the life of Pope Benedict was that, “Now he is practicing what he was teaching. To prepare himself to go on, to the last goal of life, to go on all the way to eternity, to eternal life. My impression was that he will go to a friend, a friend to whom he was speaking; all his life was dedicated for Jesus.”  

Adapted by Jacob Stein