Call for Papers: Centenary of Joseph Ratzinger Conference

The Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum is pleased to announce an international theological conference to be held on 11–12 March 2027, marking the centenary of the birth of Joseph Ratzinger. The event seeks to honor his intellectual legacy by reflecting on two milestones of his thought: Eschatology (on the 50th anniversary of its publication) and the encyclical Spe Salvi (on its 20th anniversary).

Hope and the Future in Ratzinger’s Thought

The conference aims to explore the enduring relevance of these texts, which open decisive perspectives on the future of humanity—both in an eschatological and an intra-historical sense. The goal is to reflect on how Ratzinger’s vision offers concrete responses to contemporary anthropological, cultural, and theological challenges.

Call for Papers

We invite professors, researchers, and doctoral students to contribute to this reflection. Proposals should place the two works in constructive dialogue, examining the theological themes that reveal the continuity, development, and contemporary significance of Joseph Ratzinger’s thought.

Areas of Interest:

• Christology and Eschatology: The Risen Lord as the foundation of Christian hope.
• Judgment, Freedom, and Responsibility: Judgment as the locus of justice and mercy; purgatory understood as a relational and Christological process.
• The Church and Eschatology: The Church as a “place of eschatological anticipation” and a “community of hope.”
• Resurrection of the Body: Ratzinger’s critique of dualism and his reaffirmation of salvation’s historical dimension.
• The “Schools” of Hope: The four settings for learning and practicing hope in Spe Salvi (nn. 32–48): prayer, action, suffering, and judgment.
• Cultural Discernment: A critical evaluation of secular conceptions of hope and the reduction of eschatology to purely inner‑worldly horizons.
• The unity of Ratzinger’s theological vision. Eschatology as the “inner form” of Ratzinger’s entire theological project.

Submission Guidelines

Proposals of up to 500 words, accompanied by a brief curriculum vitae, may be submitted in English or Italian to ratzinger@upra.org.

Selected authors will be invited to speak during the conference’s parallel sessions (20-minute presentations), and their contributions will be published in the Studi Ratzingeriani series (Cantagalli).

Important Dates

• September 25, 2026: Deadline for submission of proposals.

• November 13, 2026: Notification of acceptance.

• March 11–12, 2027: Theological Conference at the Athenaeum.

Organizers: Professors Sameer Advani and Leonardo Pelonara