Saw your photo post of Pope Benedict XVI and wanted to know if you know any books about him to share?
You know, I've always had at least a passing interest in Papal history, but what really got me fascinated in the history of the institution and its leaders and traditions was when Pope John Paul II died in 2005. I couldn't stop watching coverage of his funeral and, especially, the Conclave because neither of those things had ever happened in my lifetime. I'm not even Catholic -- or religious! -- but there I was hooked by the combination of majesty and mystery with the whole deal.
Then-Cardinal Ratzinger was the leading figure of the funeral ceremonies for John Paul II prior to that Conclave and he went into the Conclave as the leading candidate among the Papabile, so it was not surprise when he was quickly elected and became Pope Benedict XVI. Because of all that, I ended up with a lot of books about Pope Benedict (long since surpassed by the library of Pope Francis books I now have), and even quite a few books written by Benedict XVI. Unless you're really into learning about his theological philosophy, I'd skip most of the books that Ratzinger/Benedict wrote. The exception would probably be Pope Benedict XVI's encyclicals: God Is Love (Deus Caritas Est), Saved In Hope (Spe Salvi), and Charity In Truth (Caritas in Veritate), which I do find interesting. Plus, the Ignatius Press of San Francisco publishes each of the encyclicals in gorgeous little volumes that are nice to collect. Benedict was also working on another encyclical when he resigned in 2013 -- The Light of Faith (Lumen Fidei) -- which was completed and released by Pope Francis, but credited as the work of "four hands" and considered the only encyclical co-written by two Popes.
However, when it comes to the Popes, I've always been more interested in the biographical than ecclesiastical, and there is no shortage of great biographies about Benedict XVI. Elio Guerriero's 2018 biography, Benedict XVI: His Life and Thought (BOOK | KINDLE) is excellent. But the very best books about Pope Benedict are those written by Peter Seewald, who basically ended up as Benedict's official biographer and had incredible access to the German Pope. Seewald's 2008 book, Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait, is a solid starting place and takes you about halfway through his pontificate. Benedict XVI: Last Testament: In His Own Words (BOOK | KINDLE) from 2017 is basically a book-length interview of Benedict by Seewald. But the definitive work about Ratzinger is the two-volume biography Seewald recently published -- Benedict XVI: A Life, Volume I: Youth in Nazi Germany to the Second Vatican Council, 1927-1965 (BOOK | KINDLE), published in 2020, and Benedict XVI: A Life, Volume II: Professor and Prefect to Pope and Pope Emeritus, 1966-the Present (BOOK | KINDLE), which was published in 2021.
Two other titles are worth mentioning just because they are written from unique points of view. My Brother, the Pope (BOOK | KINDLE) was written by Benedict XVI's older brother, Georg Ratzinger, who was also a Catholic priest and died in 2020 at the age of 96. And John Paul II: My Beloved Predecessor is obviously not necessarily a book about Benedict, but it was written by him and provides an interesting glimpse of the relationship between then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II. Oh...and I'd also suggest Anthony McCarten's The Two Popes: Francis, Benedict, and the Decision That Shook the World (BOOK | KINDLE), which was originally published as The Pope, and used as the basis for a great little movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, as Benedict XVI and Francis respectively.
It might seem like I mentioned every book about Benedict XVI, but I promise I narrowed it down to the best ones in my library. If you're just looking for a good, comprehensive biography, go with any of the books by Seewald.
