Ratzinger Foundation


The Ratzinger Foundation, also known as The Pope Benedict XVI Foundation, is a charitable organization whose aim is "the promotion of theology in the spirit of Joseph Ratzinger." which it achieves by funding scholarships and bursaries for poorer students across the world. The foundation was launched on the initiative of former students of Joseph Ratzinger in December 2007.
The foundation makes much of its money from the selling of Pope Benedict XVI's writings. In 2007, £1.6 million was raised for the charity by the selling of Pope Benedict's biography on Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.
The charity also receives private donations and has close links with the Ratzinger Circle of Alumni, a group of theology students who, at doctoral and post-doctoral level, studied under the tutorship of then Professor Ratzinger. The Circle was formed after Ratzinger was elevated to the position of Archbishop of Munich.

The Ratzinger Prize

At the 2010 meeting, it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI had decided to donate a sizable sum of money for the establishment of a sort of 'Nobel Prize in Theology' in recognition of those who perform promising scholarly research relating to or expounding upon his work; it was named the Ratzinger Prize, and each winner will receive a check for $87,000. The Prize is awarded in three areas: Sacred Scripture study, patristics and fundamental theology.
On Thursday, 30 June 2011 Benedict XVI presented the three inaugural prizes to the winners in a ceremony at the papal residence, the Apostolic Palace, in the Vatican:
On Saturday, 28 September 2012, it was announced that the 2012 winners of the Ratzinger Prize were:
On Friday, 21 June 2013, the 2013 winners were announced:
The laureates in 2014 were:
The laureates in 2015 were:
The laureates in 2016 were:
The laureates in 2017 were:
Also, in 2017, the first edition of the "Ragione Aperta" Prizes, for research, and for teaching, were presented by the Foundation.
The 2018 laureates were:
The 2019 laureates were: