Ratzinger Foundation

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ratzinger Foundation
Founded21 December 2007
TypeCharitable organization
Location
FieldsThe promotion of theology in the spirit of Joseph Ratzinger
Key people
Revenue
£1.6 million
Website

The Ratzinger Foundation, also known as The Pope Benedict XVI Foundation, is a charitable organization whose aim is "the promotion of theology in the spirit of Joseph Ratzinger." which it achieves by funding scholarships and bursaries for poorer students across the world.[2][3] The foundation was launched on the initiative of former students (including 16 professors) of Joseph Ratzinger in December 2007.

The foundation makes much of its money from the selling of Pope Benedict XVI's writings. In 2007, £1.6 million was raised for the charity by the selling of Pope Benedict's biography on Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.[2]

The charity also receives private donations and has close links with the Ratzinger Circle of Alumni (Ratzinger Schülerkreis), a group of theology students who, at doctoral and post-doctoral level, studied under the tutorship of then Professor Ratzinger. The Circle was formed after Ratzinger was elevated to the position of Archbishop of Munich.[3]

Ratzinger Prize

At the 2010 meeting, it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI had decided to donate a sizable sum of money for the establishment of a sort of 'Nobel Prize in Theology' (as Camillo Ruini called it) in recognition of those who perform promising scholarly research relating to or expounding upon his work; it was named the Ratzinger Prize, and each winner will receive a check for $87,000. The Prize is awarded in three areas: Sacred Scripture study, patristics and fundamental theology.

On Thursday, 30 June 2011 Benedict XVI presented the three inaugural prizes to the winners in a ceremony at the papal residence, the Apostolic Palace, in the Vatican:

On Saturday, 28 September 2012, it was announced that the 2012 winners of the Ratzinger Prize were:

  • Reverend Professor Brian E. Daley, S.J., an American Jesuit who is Catherine F. Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana. He is a graduate of Fordham University and a Rhodes Scholar who entered the Society of Jesus in 1964 and was ordained to the presbyterate in 1970. He currently serves as executive secretary of the Catholic-Orthodox Consultation for North America.
  • Professor Rémi Brague, a French professor emeritus of medieval Arabic Philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris, and is professor of philosophy or religion at the Ludwig- Maximilian University in Munich. He is married and has four children.

On Friday, 21 June 2013, the 2013 winners were announced:

The laureates in 2014 were:

The laureates in 2015 were:[6]

The laureates in 2016 were:

The laureates in 2017 were:[8]

Also in 2017, the first edition of the "Ragione Aperta" (Open Reason) Prizes, for research (Darcia Narvaez; and Claudia Vanney and Juan Franck), and for teaching (Michael Schuck, Nancy Tuchman, and Michael Garanzini; and Sarolta Laura Baritz), were presented by the foundation.

The 2018 laureates were:[9]

  • Professor Marianne Schlosser, a Catholic professor of spiritual theology at the University of Wien, and a member of the International Theological Commission and the Commission on the Female Diaconate.
  • Mario Botta a Swiss Catholic architect who has designed multiple modern and postmodern religious buildings.

The 2019 laureates were:[10]

  • Charles Taylor, Canadian philosopher and professor emeritus at McGill University.
  • Paul Béré, a Jesuit priest from Burkina Faso and the first African winner of the prize.[11]

The 2020 laureates were:[12]

The 2021 laureates were:[13]

The 2022 laureates were:[14]

The 2023 laureates were:[15]

References

  1. ^ "Rinunce e nomine".
  2. ^ a b Pope Benedict XVI's book is a best-seller – Telegraph
  3. ^ a b "ZENIT - Foundation to Promote Thought of Benedict XVI". Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  4. ^ "È morto Manlio Simonetti". L'Osservatore Romano (in Italian). Vatican City. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  5. ^ "CONFERENZA STAMPA DI PRESENTAZIONE DELL'ATTIVITÀ DELLA FONDAZIONE VATICANA JOSEPH RATZINGER - BENEDETTO XVI E DEL SIMPOSIO "I VANGELI: STORIA E CRISTOLOGIA. LA RICERCA DI JOSEPH RATZINGER" (OTTOBRE 2013)". vatican.va. 21 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Ratzinger Prize 2015". fondazioneratzinger.va. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Pope Francis will deliver Ratzinger Prize 2016 to Inos Biffi and Ioannis Kourempeles". www.fondazioneratzinger.va. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  8. ^ NULL (26 September 2017). "Ratzinger Prize Winners Are Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox". ZENIT. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Ratzinger prize awarded to theologian and architect – Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Ratzinger Prize newest 2019 winners announced | ROME REPORTS". www.romereports.com. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Burkina Faso Jesuit is the first African to win prestigious Ratzinger Prize". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Australian academic Rowland wins prestigious Ratzinger Prize for theology". Crux. Crux Catholic Media, Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  13. ^ Brockhaus, Hannah (1 October 2021). "Old Testament expert and philosopher from Germany win 2021 Ratzinger Prize". Catholic News Agency. Vatican City. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  14. ^ "2022 Ratzinger Prize goes to theologian and to professor of law". www.vaticannews.va. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  15. ^ https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-11/ratzinger-prize-2023-goes-to-a-theologians-and-philosophers.html