Each letter was very well received by a wide range of audiences – not just Catholics but other Christians, faith leaders and those who don’t belong to a faith community.

Here you will find each Encyclical with a download available.

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At 12.30pm Pope Benedict XVI travelled in the popemobile from Holyrood Palace along Abbeyhill, Regent Road, Princes Street, Lothian Road, Tollcross and Morningside to the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh’s official residence.

Friday 17 September, London

At 5pm Pope Benedict travelled in the popemobile from Lambeth Palace across Lambeth Bridge and along Millbank, arriving at the Palace of Westminster at around 17:15.

Saturday 18 September, London

At 6pm Pope Benedict travelled in the popemobile along Horse Guards Road, The Mall, Constitution Hill and Hyde Park Corner before arriving at Hyde Park for the evening Prayer Vigil and Benediction.

Sunday 19 September, Birmingham

Pope Benedict travelled in the popemobile along a stretch of the Hagley Road to allow an additional opportunity to see him during his visit to Birmingham on the final day of the visit.

Prior to the visit, the now Cardinal Archbishop Vincent Nichols spoke about some of the Holy Father’s visits:

“From this country’s point of view there are profound historic and cultural implications and ramifications for the visit. And I suspect that these will be conveyed as much in the images as in some of the speeches and the words. So the image of Her Majesty The Queen welcoming Pope Benedict and formally greeting each other is one that will resonate through the story of this land. When the Pope enters Westminster Hall on the Friday to address politicians, diplomats, leaders of this society, that will be another very historic and resonant moment. The Pope will pause at the spot at which Saint Thomas More, the Lord Chancellor of England, was condemned to death in 1535 for his Catholic faith.”

“He will also, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, go to pray at the tomb of St Edward the Confessor, the canonised King of England, the founder of Westminster Abbey. And that too will enable us, as it were, to reach back into the deeper roots of who this nation is, who we are, and what our cultural roots are, and how refreshing they can be when they are seen to be a living source of inspiration for people today. And I think the fact that the Pope will also meet with leaders of society, who are men and women of all the different faiths present in this country, will also be a moment in which the Pope affirms the role of the breadth of faith in God as found here as a contributor to the common good.”

The Metropolitan Police said at the time:

“While security issues will be paramount, the Met Police is working with HM Government, event organisers and other partners to ensure routes for the popemobile are designed with the aim of affording the public the best possible opportunity of seeing Pope Benedict. Those wishing to see the Pope are advised to plan their trips well in advance and head for the central London Popemobile routes to avoid disappointment.”

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At the time of its publication, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said of the booklet:

“We wanted to try to answer the questions of those curious about the visit in an accessible and intelligent way. It is an attempt to get beyond the immediacy of headlines and make available the immensely rich tradition of the Church in dealing with the dilemmas of human life that Pope Benedict so eloquently expresses.

“We are looking to spell out the richness of Catholic tradition and also the enormous contribution of the Catholic Church to this country and around the world. It is important to explain who the Pope is so people can better appreciate this historic visit.”

As the preface to The Pope in the UK sets out:

“Today there are many gaps in public knowledge in these matters. This booklet seeks to address those gaps, not in a profound or systematic manner but just by way of some clear facts and indications.

“They will be helpful in preparation for this Papal Visit: helpful to those who are curious, helpful to those who need to understand a little more, helpful to those who are looking forward intently to these historic days.”

More Information

The image on the front cover is the official logo for the Papal Visit. It was designed by leading architectural artist Brian Clarke, regarded at the time as the world’s leading artist in stained glass, and incorporated the motto Heart Speaks unto Heart, taken from Cardinal Newman’s writings.

Cor ad Cor Loquitur – Heart Speaks unto Heart

The theme for Pope Benedict XVI’s 2010 visit to the UK was Cor ad cor loquitur – Heart speaks unto heart. Cardinal John Henry Newman chose the words as the motto to go on his coat of arms. Heart speaks unto heart was a fitting choice for the papal visit as, on the final day of his Apostolic Journey, the Holy Father beatified Cardinal Newman – the much-loved Victorian theologian.

Origins of the motto

When Newman became a Cardinal in 1879, he had to choose a motto to go on his coat of arms. He chose the Latin words Cor ad Cor loquitur – heart speaks unto heart. Where did these words come from? At the time, Newman thought they came from the Imitation of Christ (written in the 1400s), but in fact he was mistaken – they’re from St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) a French Bishop and great spiritual writer whom Newman revered. In fact, Newman chose to put a painting of St Francis above the altar in his own Chapel at the Birmingham Oratory.

‘Heart speaks to Heart’ – who is speaking to who?

The phrase has different levels, which together tell us a lot about Newman, his understanding of what it is to be human, and his vision of a humanity redeemed by Christ. Newman thought that true communication between us speaks from our heart to the heart of others around us – much more than just clever talking. He wrote in an Anglican sermon: ‘Eloquence and wit, shrewdness and dexterity, these plead a cause well and propagate it quickly, but it dies with them. It has no root in the hearts of men, and lives not out a generation.’ Truth speaks from the centre of the person, from their heart: ‘By a heart awake from the dead, and by affections set on heaven, we can… truly and without figure witness that Christ liveth.’ In the age of the Internet, Newman tells us that however we communicate, what we say should come from the heart, the fruits of a moral life lived in communion with Christ.

In fact, Christ speaks to us from his own Heart. ‘Thou art the living Flame, and ever burnest with love of man’ – he is ‘the Word, the Light, the Life, the Truth, Wisdom, the Divine Glory.’ So, in the end, it’s the Heart of God himself which speaks to us – in prayer, in the Mass, through the Scriptures. But also through other faithful Christians, and in the teachings of the Church. As Newman says, ‘when the Church speaks Thou dost speak.’ The Church has no other heart than the Heart of Christ himself.

Papal Visit logo

The image used for the official Papal visit logo is designed by the artist Brian Clarke. It is a detail from a stained glass window by Mr Clarke for the Papal Nunciature in London, which will be blessed by the Pope during his visit in September. The final work is in transparent stained glass and celebrates the intellectual and spiritual achievements of Thomas More, John Fisher and John Henry Newman. The blues and reds in the composition recall the rubies and ultramarines of medieval stained glass.

Brian Clarke b. 1953 is internationally renowned as a painter and globally pre-eminent in the medium of stained glass. Among his other projects he was the artist for The Pyramid of Peace in Kazakhstan, The King Faisal Foundation in Saudi Arabia, The Holocaust Memorial in Darmstadt, The Stamford Cone in Connecticut and the Victoria Quarter in Leeds. Further information brianclarke.co.uk.

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John Paul II named him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and of the International Theological Commission on 25 November 1981. On 15 February 1982 he resigned the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. The Holy Father elevated him to the Order of Bishops assigning to him the Suburbicarian See of Velletri-Segni on 5 April 1993.

He was President of the Preparatory Commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which after six years of work (1986-1992) presented the new Catechism to the Holy Father.

On 6 November 1998 the Holy Father approved the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals, submitted by the Cardinals of the Order of Bishops. On 30 November 2002 he approved his election as Dean; together with this office he was entrusted with the Suburbicarian See of Ostia.

In 1999 he was Special Papal Envoy for the Celebration of the XII Centenary of the foundation of the Diocese of Paderborn, Germany which took place on 3 January.

Since 13 November 2000 he has been an Honorary Academic of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

In the Roman Curia he has been a member of the Council of the Secretariat of State for Relations with States; of the Congregations for the Oriental Churches, for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, for Bishops, for the Evangelization of Peoples, for Catholic Education, for Clergy and for the Causes of the Saints; of the Pontifical Councils for Promoting Christian Unity, and for Culture; of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, and of the Pontifical Commissions for Latin America, “Ecclesia Dei”, for the Authentic Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law, and for the Revision of the Code of Canon Law of the Oriental Churches.

Among his many publications special mention should be made of his “Introduction to Christianity”, a compilation of University lectures on the Apostolic Creed published in 1968; “Dogma and Preaching” (1973) an anthology of essays, sermons and reflections dedicated to pastoral arguments.

His address to the Catholic Academy of Bavaria on “Why I am still in the Church” had a wide resonance; in it he stated with his usual clarity: “one can only be a Christian in the Church, not beside the Church”.

His many publications are spread out over a number of years and constitute a point of reference for many people specially for those interested in entering deeper into the study of theology. In 1985 he published his interview-book on the situation of the faith (The Ratzinger Report) and in 1996 “Salt of the Earth”. On the occasion of his 70th birthday the volume “At the School of Truth” was published, containing articles by several authors on different aspects of his personality and production.

He has received numerous “Honoris Causa” Doctorates, in 1984 from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota; in 1986 from the Catholic University of Lima; in 1987 from the Catholic University of Eichstätt; in 1988 from the Catholic University of Lublin; in 1998 from the University of Navarre; in 1999 from the LUMSA (Libera Università Maria Santissima Assunta) of Rome and in 2000 from the Faculty of Theology of the University of Wrocław in Poland.

Elected Pope

On Tuesday 19 April 2005, the College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Ratzinger as successor to Pope John Paul II – the 265th Bishop of Rome and Successor of St Peter.

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In 1978 he took part in the Conclave of 25 and 26 August which elected John Paul I, who named him his Special Envoy to the III International Mariological Congress, celebrated in Guayaquil (Ecuador) from 16 to 24 September. In the month of October of the same year he took part in the Conclave that elected Pope John Paul II.

He was Relator of the V Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which took place in 1980 on the theme: “Mission of the Christian Family in the world of today”, and was Delegate President of the VI Ordinary General Assembly of 1983 on “Reconciliation and Penance in the mission of the Church”.

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He was the first Diocesan priest for 80 years to take on the pastoral governance of the great Bavarian Archdiocese. He chose as his episcopal motto: “Cooperators of the truth”. Benedict himself explained why:

“On the one hand I saw it as the relation between my previous task as professor and my new mission. In spite of different approaches, what was involved, and continued to be so, was following the truth and being at its service. On the other hand I chose that motto because in today’s world the theme of truth is omitted almost entirely, as something too great for man, and yet everything collapses if truth is missing”.

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After lecturing on dogmatic and fundamental theology at the Higher School of Philosophy and Theology in Freising, he went on to teach at Bonn, from 1959 to1963; at Münster from 1963 to 1966 and at Tübingen from 1966 to 1969. During this last year he held the Chair of dogmatics and history of dogma at the University of Regensburg, where he was also Vice-President of the University.

From 1962 to 1965 he made a notable contribution to Vatican II as an “expert”; being present at the Council as theological advisor to Cardinal Joseph Frings, Archbishop of Cologne.

His intense scientific activity led him to important positions at the service of the German Bishops’ Conference and the International Theological Commission.

In 1972 together with Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac and other important theologians, he initiated the theological journal “Communio”.

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The book’s a powerful pastoral account that — by means of a fresh illumination of the Gospels — provides an introduction to the bedrock principles of Christianity, inviting the reader to be touched and animated by the message of Jesus Christ. At the same time, the text is a theological masterwork exhibiting the rigorous application that is the hallmark of the writings and speeches of Cardinal Ratzinger the theologian.

The Pope’s pastoral concerns joined with the depth of his theological perspective combine to create the work’s core assertion – the firm conviction that, in order to understand the figure of Jesus, it’s necessary to start from his union with the Father as the Beloved Son.

The Holy Father acknowledges that the historical-critical method is indispensable for serious analysis, and recognises it has unearthed a large body of materials and knowledge that enable us to reconstruct the figure of Jesus with a depth that, only a few decades ago, would have been unthinkable. But it is only through faith, he maintains, that one can come to understand that Jesus is God. And if, in the light of this conviction, we read the Scriptures with the advantages provided by the historical-critical method, then those texts reveal to us — in all their complexity but also in their clarity — a path and a figure that are indeed worthy of faith. For Ratzinger, faith and critical research are complementary, not antagonistic, and the historical Jesus is the Jesus of the Gospels.

Link

Available from the Catholic Truth Society

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His father, a policeman, came from a family of farmers from Lower Bavaria. His mother, Maria, was the daughter of artisans from Rimsting on the shore of Lake Chiem, and before marrying she worked as a cook in a number of hotels.

He spent his childhood in Traunstein, a small village near the Austrian border, thirty kilometres from Salzburg. In this environment, which he himself has defined as “Mozartian”, he received his Christian, cultural and human formation.

His early years were not easy. His faith and the education received at home prepared him for the harsh experience of those years during which the Nazi regime was hostile towards the Catholic Church – the young Joseph saw how some Nazis beat the Parish Priest before the celebration of Mass.

It was during this difficult and complex situation that he discovered the beauty and truth of faith in Christ.

His family, who always gave a clear witness of goodness and hope rooted in a faithful attachment to the Church, were fundamental in his faith journey.

During the last months of the war he was enrolled in an auxiliary anti-aircraft corps.

From 1946 to 1951 he studied philosophy and theology in the Higher School of Philosophy and Theology of Freising and at the University of Munich.

He received his priestly ordination on 29 June 1951.

A year later he began teaching at the Higher School of Freising.

In 1953 he obtained his doctorate in theology with a thesis entitled “People and House of God in St Augustine’s Doctrine of the Church”.

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