The Patristics Seminar and Joseph Ratzinger

In 1999, I had just inaugurated a new seminar in the third year of the First Cycle of Theology, entitled A Patristic Synthesis of Theology. A student informed me of the possibility of attending the Holy Mass that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - celebrated every Thursday morning in the German College, inside the Vatican walls. At that time there were no classes at the Gregorian on Thursday mornings, so we all decided to attend the service.

 

 

Meetings with the Cardinal

The first meeting occurred in March 2000. The previous afternoon we had discussed Ratzinger's homilies on creation. We were warmly received. After Mass I saw the Cardinal in the sacristy and told him that the students were eager to talk to him, and he was very forthcoming.

Four more meetings followed that first one. Each year we devoted one meeting to Ratzinger's homilies on creation in relation to patristic theology. The following Thursday morning we would attend the Eucharistic celebration presided over by the Cardinal at the German College. Every year he would ask me what we had discussed. “Your Eminence, we have read your sermons on creation.” He would always reply: “I hope you were kind to me.” He recognised us each time. On our fifth meeting, after this exchange, I told him we had some questions. “Yes, really?”. “In one of your homilies you say that God created the world and man to become man Himself. Does this mean that you take the position of Duns Scotus rather than that of Thomas Aquinas?” Ratzinger replied: “Be careful, Father, not to draw too sharp a contrast between Duns Scotus and Thomas Aquinas, because in a commentary on Genesis 2, Thomas suggests that God created man as prefiguration of Christ.” “Your Eminence, are you sure it is chapter two and not chapter three? Because the Fall is dealt with in chapter two.” “No. It is chapter two. Because God creates man as a prefiguration of Christ.” Later on, one of the students found the reference in the Summa Theologica.

It was a very fruitful opportunity. Monsignor Gänswein had asked us not to keep His Eminence too long, since we were not the only group that wanted to greet him. But as soon as the conversation began, the students started to gather around him. I gazed at Msgr. Gänswein as if to say: “This is not my fault, it is his.” Ratzinger devoted as much time as he could to the group, and it was never his decision to end the meeting, but rather mine, by thanking him at a certain point. On the other hand, he was never in a hurry, he was happy to be there and to talk to us. His kindness to the students was remarkable.

 

 

 

Meeting with the Holy Father

The meeting could not be repeated in 2005 because I was in Australia for the Tertianship and the Cardinal was elected Pope that same year. At that time, we used to attend Benedict XVI's General Audience so that, at the moment of the greetings, the students of the Seminar would stand up to greet him and he would reciprocate. I always had the impression that he sincerely recognised us.

At the Audience of February 1, 2012, in the Paul VI Hall, when we were announced and stood up, the group sang Tu es Petrus. Archbishop Cushley, who was announcing the English-speaking groups that day, allowed a few moments of silence to pass before announcing the next group, and it was then that the Pope looked at us and we looked at him. We greeted him with our hands and he responded with a gesture of greeting. The next day the photo of this unspoken interaction appeared in L'Osservatore Romano.

In January 2013, Benedict XVI, already extremely tired, did not attend the audience from the beginning and the groups were presented before his arrival, so we decided not to join in the singing and missed the opportunity to greet him. Two weeks later he announced his resignation as Bishop of Rome. I was in Havana.

 

 

 

Meeting with the Pope Emeritus

The Patristics Seminar always ended with Holy Mass and dinner together. During the closing session on May 17, 2013, the students asked for an audience with the Pope Emeritus. On May 22 - the feast of St Rita, patron saint of the impossible causes - I wrote a letter to Archbishop Gänswein asking for this opportunity, explaining that it was justified by the great affection the students had for Benedict XVI, and asking whether "Professor" Ratzinger might not be pleased by a visit from some of the students. Two weeks later, the archbishop told us that Pope Benedict wished to see us on June 13, in the afternoon, so that he could stay longer with us. And so it was. We were received in the chapel, the only room in the monastery that could hold 25 people. He arrived, turned to the Blessed Sacrament, prayed the Gloria Patri and then looked at me. I went up to him and introduced myself. “We have met before,” he said to me. He remembered both our meetings in the German College and our participation in the audiences. He sat down and I sat next to him facing the students: it was a very intimate moment. He told us that he wanted to know about our Seminar.

I gave the floor to the students first. Each of them stood up and introduced themselves to the Pope, who exchanged a few words with them. Then it was time for the questions, and he answered all of them with great clarity. He gave long replies, even though he did not know what we were going to ask him. One student asked him about Von Balthasar's position on the Apokatástasis, and he said: “I told Von Balthasar that one cannot say that hell does not exist! He also remembered historical details with great clarity. I asked him if, on the evening in 1972 when he, Von Balthasar and De Lubac decided to found the magazine Communio, they were at the restaurant Da Ernesto in Piazza Santi Apostoli, as I had read. But he replied: “No, that's incorrect. I think we were in the Trastevere district that night.”

We had no more opportunities to meet Benedict XVI as a Seminar group because, his secretary said, there were too many of us. A few years later, the Pope Emeritus invited me to pray the Rosary in the Vatican Gardens. It was February 21, 2016, and I had the opportunity to bring along a former North American student who was going to defend his doctoral dissertation shortly after that date, inspired by an exchange we had had with Ratzinger during our first meetings at the German College. We prayed the Rosary. The Pope Emeritus walked with the help of a walker. After that, we spent some time conversing. In the last two meetings - June 13, 2013 and February 21, 2016 - I would always bring gifts: letters from friends, the typical Roman Jewish tart that he liked so much, and other gifts. The student gave the Pope Emeritus a copy of the presentation of his doctoral dissertation, which was dedicated to him. Benedict XVI was delighted and looked forward to reading the abstract. “Everything is here!” he said with remarkable joy.

 

 

 

In life and beyond

That was the last time we saw Benedict XVI in life, but every year the Seminar group would send him a letter or a postcard, and every year we would receive a reply, usually a Christmas card. In November 2022 we celebrated Holy Mass in St Ignatius Church, at the altar of St Robert Bellarmine, and offered it for him. Then we wrote and each student signed the card.

At the end of December we heard that he was dying. It was during the Christmas holidays and I suggested to some former students that we go to St Peter's Square and pray for him. Because of the liturgical celebrations on December 31, we decided to meet on January 1st, not knowing that our prayer would be for the repose of his soul. Our small group was gathered in prayer in St Peter's Square, reading some of his texts, including his spiritual testament, when a student arrived late, excusing himself because he had just come from the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where Pope Benedict's remains were laid to rest.

We didn't know if we could to see him. It was about 6pm and we went up to the monastery. He was there, in the same chapel where he had received the Seminar group. I immediately went to Monsignor Gänswein, who told me: “Father Carola, we have received your card. He saw that it was signed by all the students, and he was very happy.” After the prayer, on my way out of the chapel, I stopped again to greet the archbishop, who added: “Father Carola, do you know that your group was the first to come here after the resignation? We had returned from Castelgandolfo on the 2nd of May, and in that month only a few people had come to greet him, but there was no practice of inviting groups. Your group was the first to be received by the Pope Emeritus here in the monastery.” The next day, when I told this story in the refectory of our community, one of the Jesuit Fathers said: “Yes, you were the first group and also the last.” This is the story of the Patristics Seminar with Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI.