International Chair Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI

Directors
Manuel Palma Ramírez, Alessandro Clemenzia

Co-directors
Miguel Á. Núñez Aguilera, Fabio Tonizzi

Board of Directors
Filippo Belli, Hermann Geissler, Augustin Kalamba, Álvaro Román, Nicola Salato. 

Scientific advice
Pierluca Azzaro, Andrea Bellandi, Giuseppe Betori, Pablo Blanco Sarto, Achim Buckenmeier,Letizia Calmeyn, Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz, Helmut Hoping,Kurt Koch, Damiano Marzotto, José Rico Pavés, Roberto Regoli,Tracey Rowland, Christian Schaller, Angelo Scola.

Foundation
The Faculty of Theology Saint Isidore of Seville, in accordance with its own purposes (Statutes, art. 2), on April 16, 2024, established the Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI Chair at the Faculty of Theology of Saint Isidore of Seville and at the Facoltà Teologica dell’Italia Centrale (Florence).

Aims
The fundamental aim of the Chair is to promote within the academic sphere the theological, philosophical, and cultural contributions of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, fostering academic research pathways, particularly for second and third-cycle students. Additionally, the Chair is intended to support educational activities to achieve its primary purpose, as well as to oversee the publication of scientific texts, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary. The Chair also aims to create a specialized bibliographic collection within the two academic institutions, in collaboration with the  Benedict XVI Library (Seville) and the  Cardinal Silvano Piovanelli Library (Florence). Furthermore, it seeks to establish relationships with other academic institutions, dioceses, religious congregations, seminaries, archives, etc., and to plan, in coordination with the academic authorities of each Faculty of Theology, an annual academic project.

Main activities of the Chair
Organization of lectures, study seminars, training courses, and conferences, as well as planning an annual academic project.

Activities of the Chair Academic Year 2024-25
Among others, the Chair has organised a couple of online lecture series. Broadcast live on Youtube with simultaneous translation into Spanish.