The International Ratzinger Foundation (FIR) participated in the international congress on Joseph Ratzinger and Benedict XVI held in Almería, Spain, from 26 to 29 October 2026. Under the theme “A Pope for the History of the Church and the World”, the congress was organised by Providentia, with the Foundation among its collaborating institutions, in preparation for the centenary of Ratzinger’s birth in 2027.
Members of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and Academic Network joined scholars and Church representatives for four days of reflection on Benedict XVI’s thought. The main academic sessions took place at the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Realism (MUREC), alongside liturgic
al celebrations and cultural activities in the province of Almería.
The Foundation’s president, Marcela Jiménez-Unquiles, addressed dialogue, faith and reason on the twentieth anniversary of Benedict XVI’s Regensburg Address. The theme recalled Ratzinger’s invitation to broaden the horizons of reason and keep it open to the deepest questions of human existence.
Vice-president Alejandro Sada Mier y Terán delivered the lecture “Jesus of Nazareth: The Joy of Faith in the Lord”, exploring the central place of Jesus Christ in Ratzinger’s thought and the joy of the encounter with him. Trustee Pablo Blanco Sarto, a theologian at the University of Navarra and recipient of the 2023 Ratzinger Prize, gave the opening lecture, “Benedict XVI, a Man for Eternity”.
Other members of the Foundation also contributed to the programme. Trustee Lydia Jiménez González considered Ratzinger’s path from theologian of the Second Vatican Council to pastor of the universal Church. Honorary trustee Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela addressed the Church as mystery, communion and mission, while trustee Jaime Mayor Oreja spoke on the Christian’s place in the world. Bishop Juan Antonio Martínez Camino, a member of the Foundation’s Advisory Council, spoke on the spirit of the liturgy.
Trustees Julio Andrés Borges Junyent and Sara Gallardo González also attended the congress. Sara Gallardo is additionally a member of the Foundation’s Academic Network, which was also represented by María Esther Gómez de Pedro.
The Foundation expresses its particular gratitude to Ramón Garrido Domene, founder of Providentia and a trustee of FIR, for his donation of an eighteenth-century cross. It also thanks sculptor José María Leal Bernáldez for the sculpture he presented during the congress and donated to the Foundation. His lecture on art and beauty in the service of evangelisation formed part of the academic programme.
FIR thanks Providentia, its president Carmen Navarro, the organising committee and the people of Almería for their hospitality and for making this encounter possible. The congress provided an opportunity to study Benedict XVI’s work together and to strengthen the relationships through which his thought continues to be shared.
