Pope Benedict XVI (1927 - 2022) - a year on.

I have written thousands of words about Pope Benedict XVI, and I will probably write thousands more. Nonetheless, I still feel as though I haven't actually said anything about him. I can never put into words how big of an influence Pope Benedict XVI has been in my personal life. And, faith prompts me to believe that I have gained a powerful intercessor since.

Some people are praised for being "larger than life"; Benedict XVI wasn't. He was unassuming, quiet and thoughtful. There were no grand gestures, no theatrics and no big statements. Throughout his long life, there were no catchy soundbites. The symbols, the gestures and the measured words were often misinterpreted. The last ten years of his life were out of the public eye, hidden in a monastery on the grounds of the Vatican where he prayed and studied. And yet it was precisely this which made him so great. As his biographer Peter Seewald once wrote, “The smaller Ratzinger made himself, the more influence he exerted.”

He was one of those good seeds sown by the sower in the cover of night; despite its smallness and apparent fragility, it grew and it fed many with the good fruits it produced. It will continue to grow despite the weeds which try to choke it.

I have nothing but gratitude for the life and example of this man.

In addition to my ongoing series in Maltese on the life and work of Pope Benedict XVI, here are some links to my other publicly available work:

Ratzinger and Augustine in The European Conservative, 16 September 2023

A co-worker of the truth (obituary) in The Times of Malta, 4 January 2023

The Contemplative in the Vatican (on the occasion of his 70th year of priesthood) in The Times of Malta, 10 July 2021

Remarks (in Maltese) delivered at the launch of the Maltese translation of the book The Last Testament, 21 April 2017

A Testament of Faith and Service (review of "The Last Testament") in The University Bookman, 17 April 2017

Benedict XVI at 90 in The Times of Malta, 16 April 2017