The Vatican has published an English edition of a collection of previously unpublished homilies by Pope Benedict XVI just days before the 75th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
The volume, The Lord Holds Us by the Hand, gathers homilies delivered during private Masses celebrated by Benedict between 2005 and 2017, both during his pontificate and after his resignation from the papacy. Published by the Vatican Publishing House, LEV, the book makes available to English-speaking readers for the first time a series of reflections preached during the liturgical seasons of Advent, Lent and Easter in the chapel of the Apostolic Palace and later at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where Benedict lived as pope emeritus.
The publication comes ahead of 29 June, which marks the 75th anniversary of Joseph Ratzinger’s ordination as a priest in 1951, a milestone in a ministry that would eventually see the Bavarian theologian become prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, pope and, following his historic resignation in 2013, pope emeritus. According to Vatican News, the collection was first published in Italian in 2025 under the title Il Signore ci tiene per mano. The English edition has been edited by Riccardo Bollati, Luca Caruso and Fr Federico Lombardi SJ, president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation. The volume includes a preface by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Benedict’s former personal secretary, and an introduction by Fr Lombardi.
The homilies were preached during Masses attended by members of the papal household and invited guests. Some were delivered while Benedict occupied the Chair of St Peter, while others came after he withdrew from public life following his resignation and took up residence at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens. Although delivered in private settings, the texts revisit themes that ran throughout Benedict’s theological and pastoral work. Vatican News said they show his ability to draw from Sacred Scripture “light for faith, prayer, and daily Christian life”.
The collection also highlights the central place of Christ in Benedict’s thought. Throughout the homilies he returns to the theme of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the conviction that the Christian life is sustained by God’s presence and mercy. Vatican News said the title itself points to the reality that “the Christian life is not a solitary path, but a journey guided by the presence and mercy of God”.
The publication offers readers a further glimpse into Benedict’s life after his resignation, when he largely disappeared from public view while continuing a quiet routine of prayer, study and the celebration of Mass within the Vatican. Though he rarely intervened publicly during those years, the homilies show that he continued to reflect on Scripture and the liturgical life of the Church until advancing age gradually curtailed his activities.
Pope Benedict died on 31 December 2022 at the age of 95, almost a decade after becoming the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign from office. Since his death, interest in his theological legacy has remained strong, with publishers and foundations continuing to make previously unpublished material from his long ecclesiastical career available.
The release of The Lord Holds Us by the Hand forms part of that wider effort. Vatican News reported that a second volume containing Benedict’s unpublished homilies from Ordinary Time is expected to follow.
To mark the 75th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s ordination to the priesthood on 29 June, AdVaticanum has published a special nine-day series featuring some of the most significant homilies, addresses and reflections from across his public ministry. Readers can follow the commemorative series throughout the novena period in this publication.
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