The Vatican Publishing House released June 24 an English translation of previously unpublished homilies by Pope Benedict XVI, including homilies delivered during private Masses and after his resignation.
The English edition of The Lord Holds Us by the Hand is a collection of the homilies the late pontiff delivered from 2005 through 2017 during the liturgical seasons of Advent, Lent, and Easter, according to Vatican News. Originally published in Italian in 2025, the book is the first of two planned English editions.
Vatican News said the collection reflects Pope Benedict's Christ-centered spirituality and the theological clarity and spiritual depth that marked his pontificate. It also highlights his ability to draw practical lessons from Sacred Scripture for Christian life.
Many of the homilies were delivered in the Apostolic Palace, while others were preached at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where Pope Benedict lived after resigning from the papacy in 2013.
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Benedict's former personal secretary, wrote the book's preface, while Father Federico Lombardi, president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation, wrote the introduction.
According to Vatican News, a second English volume featuring Benedict's previously unpublished homilies from Ordinary Time is expected to follow.