Ratzinger Foundation: Father Roberto Regoli appointed new President

By Salvatore Cernuzio

Father Roberto Regoli, a well-known historian of the Church, is the new president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation.

Established on 1 March 2010, the Foundation has the aim of promoting and encouraging the study, knowledge, and dissemination of the theology and work of Joseph Ratzinger and Benedict XVI, also through projects, conferences, and seminars.

A professor of contemporary history at the Pontifical Gregorian University—where he directs the Department of Church History and the journal Archivium Historiae Pontificiae—and the author of internationally significant studies and volumes on the history of the Papacy, the Roman Curia, and papal diplomacy from the 19th to the 21st centuries, Father Regoli takes over the role held for the past ten years by Father Federico Lombardi, 83, who had received the mandate after completing his own decade-long tenure as Director of the Holy See Press Office.

Renewals and transitions

In a note published was 28 January,  Father Regoli describes Father Lombardi as “the public and serene face of the Foundation, which over these ten years has guided the course of institutional initiatives with prudence and confidence.”

That note was accompanied by a communiqué announcing the renewal of the Foundation’s institutional bodies, whose terms—according to the statutes—expired after five years.

“Since the previous five-year term ended in 2025, the Secretariat of State, to which the Foundation refers, has provided for their renewal and for the appropriate transitions,” the document states.

In addition to the appointment of Father Regoli as the new president of the Board of Directors by the Secretary of State, the following have been renewed as members: Archbishop Georg Gänswein, nuncio to Lithuania and for many years the personal secretary of Benedict XVI; Professor Achim Buckenmaier; lawyer Francesca Bazoli; and Dr. Alberto Gasbarri, former administrative director of Vatican Radio and organizer of Apostolic Journeys.

Members of the Scientific Committee, appointed by the Pope, are Cardinal Kurt Koch and Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Archbishops Rino Fisichella and Bruno Forte, and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer.

The President of the Board of Auditors is Aurelio Ingrassia, appointed by the Secretariat for the Economy; the members—appointed by the Secretariat of State—are Andrea Filippi and Giuseppe Mascarucci. Cardinals Gianfranco Ravasi and Luis Ladaria have concluded their terms as members of the Scientific Committee, as have Father Giuseppe Costa and Dr. Renato Poletti as members of the Board of Directors, and Alessandro Roppo as President of the Board of Auditors.

Gratitude to Father Lombardi

To all those who have carried out a “valuable service” at the Ratzinger Foundation over these years goes the gratitude of the new president, Father Regoli, who first thanks Pope Leo and Cardinal Parolin “for their attentive benevolence toward the institution” and for the “trust” placed in him.

In a special way, he thanked Father Lombardi, writing, “We know that he can remain a point of reference for all of us. We wish him to reap abundantly what he has sown."

Toward the celebrations of the centenary of the birth of Joseph Ratzinger

He also announces “an exciting five-year period” with the celebration of the centenary of the birth of Joseph Ratzinger (1927–2027), which has already been in preparation for months through the planning of conferences, publications, exhibitions, and concerts involving many countries across all continents.

“The legacy of Ratzinger, as theologian and Pope," Father Regoli affirms, "is very much alive, including pastorally, as a source and confirmation of many personal paths of conversion throughout the world. The vitality of his thought not only has something to say, but can make a significant contribution to the theological and cultural debates of our time.”

The hope—and commitment—is, the new President expresses, that the voice of the Bavarian Pontiff “may continue to resound through the Foundation” not only in university classrooms, but also and above all among young people, “whom we must help rediscover the beauty of faith, first and foremost, in Christ and in the Church.”