by Redaktion
ROME – The Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum (APRA) announces an international theological conference to be held on 11–12 March 2027 in Rome, marking the centenary of the birth of Joseph Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI on 16 April 1927.
The conference, “Hope and the Future in Ratzinger’s Thought” will center on two pivotal milestones in his work: the 50th anniversary of Eschatology and the 20th anniversary of the encyclical Spe Salvi.
The aim is to examine the lasting relevance of these texts, which open decisive perspectives on humanity’s future — both eschatologically and within history — and to reflect on how Ratzinger’s vision addresses contemporary anthropological, cultural, and theological questions.
Call for Papers
APRA invites professors, researchers, and doctoral students to submit proposals that bring Eschatology and Spe Salvi into constructive dialogue, highlighting the continuity, development, and present-day significance of Joseph Ratzinger’s thought.
Suggested themes:
• Christology and Eschatology: The Risen Lord as the foundation of Christian hope
• Judgment, Freedom, and Responsibility: Justice, mercy, and purgatory as a relational, Christological process
• The Church and Eschatology: The Church as a “place of eschatological anticipation” and “community of hope”
• Resurrection of the Body: Ratzinger’s critique of dualism and his reaffirmation of salvation’s historical dimension
• The “Schools” of Hope: Prayer, action, suffering, and judgment as the four settings for learning hope in Spe Salvi nn. 32–48
• Cultural Discernment: A critical reading of secular notions of hope and the reduction of eschatology to inner-worldly horizons
Continuing the Research Path
This conference follows APRA’s 2025 international conference “Sixty Years After the Council. Selected Themes on J. Ratzinger and Vatican II” held 11–12 March 2025.
The proceedings from that event have already been published as the first volume "Joseph Ratzinger e il Concilio Vaticano II" in the new “Studi Ratzingeriani” series by Edizioni Cantagalli, continuing APRA’s commitment to advancing scholarship on Ratzinger’s theological legacy.
The 2027 conference is part of the worldwide initiatives coordinated by the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation to commemorate the centenary across four continents.
For submission guidelines, deadlines, and abstract requirements:
https://www.upra.org/comunicazione/news/centenario-di-joseph-ratzinger-call-for-papers-per-il-convegno-teologico-del-2027/
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