Centenary of Pope Benedict XVI: Initiatives to remember Joseph Ratzinger

A broad international program of initiatives is underway to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Pope Benedict XVI, which will fall on April 16, 2027.

More than ten events are planned throughout 2026, spread across four continents, with the aim of commemorating and exploring the figure and thought of Joseph Ratzinger.

The initiatives, launched by the Vatican Foundation named after him, are coordinated by an International Committee for the Centenary Celebrations established within the Foundation itself.

Events are scheduled in Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, India, Colombia, the United States, and Kenya.

"The centenary of Ratzinger's birth," says Father Roberto Regoli, president of the Ratzinger Foundation and the Centenary Committee, "is an opportunity to fully present his thought and his approach to reality, as significant contributions to the current ecclesial and cultural debate. His legacy concerns the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, the personal experience of Christ, which becomes the key to all branches of theology, and reasonableness as the criterion underlying human reflection on reality."

On April 16, the opening day of the centenary, the presentation of the fourth volume of Selected Texts of Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI, titled "The Faith of the Future. The Future of the Church," published by Cantagalli, will take place at the Italian Embassy to the Holy See in Rome.

The 2026 events will conclude with the Foundation's annual International Symposium, scheduled for November 18-21 at Tangaza University in Nairobi, Kenya, on the theme: "Constellations of Hope: Africa and the Renewal of the Church in the Vision of Benedict XVI." The Symposium will be held in collaboration with Saint Mary's University in Minnesota, marking the 40th anniversary of Tangaza University.

Finally, the Ratzinger Prize award ceremony will be held in December 2026.

The dates for the 2027 events will be announced later.