Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait

In Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait, journalist Peter Seewald gives an insider’s scoop on the man who became Pope Benedict XVI. To those who have wondered, "What is Pope Benedict really like?" Benedict XVI provides a rich response.

Seewald takes readers inside his lengthy interviews with Joseph Ratzinger, providing not the substance (which is found in Salt of the Earth and God and the World), but the story of the interviews. Readers learn such details as Ratzinger’s manner ("He never gave the impression of being old-fashioned or a know-it-all, and if ever he did not know something, he admitted this quite frankly")and his preferred drink ("‘Ratzinger tea’ . . .which is fruit tea with lemon and plenty of sugar").

Seewald places these interviews within the larger context of Ratzinger’s life, showing the ideas and events that shaped his character and thought. He sketches Ratzinger’s parents and family life and tells stories from Ratzinger’s youth, early priesthood, and teaching posts, as well as his upward move through the hierarchy.

And in telling Pope Benedict’s story, Seewald tells his own. He started his work with Joseph Ratzinger as a journalist looking for a good angle on an interesting story. Through his contact with Ratzinger, he became genuinely interested in the man and his message-and found faith in the process.

-Sarah Rozman (from Lay Witness magazine. www.cuf.org)

You can purchase this title here.