The Joseph Ratzinger Compendium is a watershed achievement in Catholic theology—a robust topical survey of the life, thought, and spirituality of Pope Benedict XVI, one of the twentieth- and twenty-first century’s most influential minds.

The fruit of collaboration between seventy-two scholars across the globe, including Tracey Rowland, Christian Schaller, and Pablo Blanco Sarto, this essential reference text illuminates Ratzinger’s thinking on 104 different themes, from art to Augustine, from Baptism to Bonaventure, from catechesis to culture, all drawing richly from the German theologian’s extensive corpus of writings. Each of the book’s entries includes a bibliography of primary and secondary sources for further reading.

The text also features four extensive indexes, a detailed biographical chronology, and a guide for systematic reading.

No other book offers such a wide-ranging exploration of the mind of Joseph Ratzinger, whose work before, during, and after his papacy is bound to shape the Church for centuries to come. No student or professor of Christian theology should be without this volume.