Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI Archives

Popes Francis, Benedict receive their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine

Jan 14, 2021

Both Pope Francis and retired Pope Benedict XVI have received the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 after the Vatican started vaccinating its employees and residents Jan. 13.

By Carol Glatz

COVID deniers invoke Pope Benedict, burn image of Francis at Rome rally

Sep 7, 2020

According to local media reports, there was a significant presence of Catholic traditionalists and conservatives at the demonstration, including protesters who carried a version of the gold-and-white papal flag with an image of Benedict XVI. Another demonstrator who came dressed as a Catholic priest burned a photograph to Pope Francis to applause and cheers.

By Crux Staff

Medjugorje message expresses Pope Francis’s ‘Marian Classic’

Aug 4, 2020

Pope Francis has a classically Latin American passion for the Madonna and for popular devotions to her that express the souls of so many cultures on his home continent.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Was his quick trip to Germany Pope Benedict’s last cameo?

Jun 22, 2020

Retired Pope Benedict XVI, 93, is scheduled to return to Rome Monday morning after a quick trip to Regensburg to visit his ailing brother – a trip which given his own age and desire to keep a low profile, could very well be his last ‘cameo’.

By Elise Ann Allen

Benedict XVI praises legacy of John Paul II, calling him ‘restorer of the Church’

May 15, 2020

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI commemorated the centennial of the birth of Karol Wojtyła, who became Pope John Paul II, in an open letter to the Polish people addressed to Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, who was the longtime private secretary to the Polish pontiff.

By Paulina Guzik

Applying Occam’s razor to the latest “he said-he said” Vatican contretemps

May 9, 2020

It’s worth pondering whether ordinary human dynamics actually are the best lens through which to view a crossfire between two prominent conservative Catholic prelates over a coronavirus petition.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Vatican seeks to explain absence of aide after book scandal

Feb 5, 2020

The Vatican sought Wednesday to explain the absence of a key member of Pope Francis’ protocol team following the scandal over a book on priestly celibacy co-written by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.

By Nicole Winfield

Looking East: Book on celibacy barely acknowledges Eastern tradition

Jan 26, 2020

The controversy surrounding retired Pope Benedict XVI’s contribution to a new book on priestly celibacy demonstrates just how much both substance and appearances matter.

By Cindy Wooden