Peter Seewald has worked as a journalist for Stern, Spiegel and the Süddeutsche Zeitung and is one of the most admired authors on religion in Germany today. Throughout his career he has remained one of the writers closest to Pope Benedict and has interviewed him for countless hours. His book of conversations with Pope Benedict, Last Testament, was published by Bloomsbury Continuum in 2016, and the first volume of his biography of the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was published by the same imprint in late 2020.

• List of IllustrationsPart one professor1 Tübingen2 Deeply Afraid3 1968 and the Myth of the Change4 The Catholic Crisis5 A Fresh Start6 Tensions7 The Vision of the Church of the Future8 Reconquest9 The Doctrine of Eternal Life10 Archbishop11 The Year of Three Popes12 The Küng Case13 The Legacy of MunichPart two prefect14 The Prefect15 Ratzinger’s Report16 The Fight over Liberation Theology17 Teamwork18 The Collapse19 The Long Suffering of Karol Wojtyla 20 Millennium21 Agony22 Conclave23 Habemus PapamPart three pope24 The First Pope of the Third Millennium25 In the Shoes of the Fisherman26 Benedetto Mania27 The Regensburg Speech28 Deus caritas est29 Salt of the Earth, Light of the World30 The Rupture31 The Condom Crisis32 The Abuse Scandal33 The Shepherd34 Human Ecology35 Desecularization36 The Betrayal37 The Resignation38 The Beginning of a New EraAfterword: Final Questions to Benedict XVINotesIndex

Seewald's passionate biography makes one sympathise with the bookish Bavarian.

Peter Seewald has worked as a journalist for Stern, Spiegel and the Süddeutsche Zeitung and is one of the most admired authors on religion in Germany today. Throughout his career he has remained one of the writers closest to Pope Benedict and has interviewed him for countless hours. His book of conversations with Pope Benedict, Last Testament, was published by Bloomsbury Continuum in 2016, and the first volume of his biography of the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was published by the same imprint in late 2020.

• List of IllustrationsPart one professor1 Tübingen2 Deeply Afraid3 1968 and the Myth of the Change4 The Catholic Crisis5 A Fresh Start6 Tensions7 The Vision of the Church of the Future8 Reconquest9 The Doctrine of Eternal Life10 Archbishop11 The Year of Three Popes12 The Küng Case13 The Legacy of MunichPart two prefect14 The Prefect15 Ratzinger’s Report16 The Fight over Liberation Theology17 Teamwork18 The Collapse19 The Long Suffering of Karol Wojtyla 20 Millennium21 Agony22 Conclave23 Habemus PapamPart three pope24 The First Pope of the Third Millennium25 In the Shoes of the Fisherman26 Benedetto Mania27 The Regensburg Speech28 Deus caritas est29 Salt of the Earth, Light of the World30 The Rupture31 The Condom Crisis32 The Abuse Scandal33 The Shepherd34 Human Ecology35 Desecularization36 The Betrayal37 The Resignation38 The Beginning of a New EraAfterword: Final Questions to Benedict XVINotesIndex

Seewald's passionate biography makes one sympathise with the bookish Bavarian.

Peter Seewald has worked as a journalist for Stern, Spiegel and the Süddeutsche Zeitung and is one of the most admired authors on religion in Germany today. Throughout his career he has remained one of the writers closest to Pope Benedict and has interviewed him for countless hours. His book of conversations with Pope Benedict, Last Testament, was published by Bloomsbury Continuum in 2016, and the first volume of his biography of the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was published by the same imprint in late 2020.

• List of IllustrationsPart one professor1 Tübingen2 Deeply Afraid3 1968 and the Myth of the Change4 The Catholic Crisis5 A Fresh Start6 Tensions7 The Vision of the Church of the Future8 Reconquest9 The Doctrine of Eternal Life10 Archbishop11 The Year of Three Popes12 The Küng Case13 The Legacy of MunichPart two prefect14 The Prefect15 Ratzinger’s Report16 The Fight over Liberation Theology17 Teamwork18 The Collapse19 The Long Suffering of Karol Wojtyla 20 Millennium21 Agony22 Conclave23 Habemus PapamPart three pope24 The First Pope of the Third Millennium25 In the Shoes of the Fisherman26 Benedetto Mania27 The Regensburg Speech28 Deus caritas est29 Salt of the Earth, Light of the World30 The Rupture31 The Condom Crisis32 The Abuse Scandal33 The Shepherd34 Human Ecology35 Desecularization36 The Betrayal37 The Resignation38 The Beginning of a New EraAfterword: Final Questions to Benedict XVINotesIndex

Seewald's passionate biography makes one sympathise with the bookish Bavarian.