The Vatican Publishing House (LEV) has released the English edition of “The Lord Holds Us by the Hand,” which brings together previously unpublished homilies delivered by Pope Benedict XVI during private Masses celebrated during his pontificate and after his resignation.
Vatican News
A new English edition of “The Lord Holds Us by the Hand” offers readers a collection of unpublished homilies by Pope Benedict XVI, allowing them to hear once again the voice of Joseph Ratzinger as preacher, theologian, and pastor.
The volume, originally published in Italian by the Vatican Publishing House under the title “Il Signore ci tiene per mano,” gathers homilies delivered between 2005 and 2017 during the liturgical seasons of Advent, Lent, and Easter.
Edited by Riccardo Bollati, Luca Caruso, and Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, the book includes a preface by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Benedict XVI’s former personal secretary, and an introduction by Fr. Lombardi, President of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation.
Private Masses, public witness
The homilies were delivered during “private” Masses celebrated by Benedict XVI with the papal household and occasional guests, both while he was Pope and later as Pope Emeritus.
Some were preached in the chapel of the Apostolic Palace, while others were given at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, where Benedict XVI lived after his resignation from the papacy.
Although spoken in private settings, the texts open a window onto the depth and simplicity of Benedict XVI’s preaching.
They reveal his ability to read Sacred Scripture in an ever-new way, drawing from it light for faith, prayer, and daily Christian life.
Christ at the centre
The pages of the book also show how Joseph Ratzinger kept at the centre of his faith not abstract or dry reasoning, but a personal relationship with Christ.
In the homilies, Pope Benedict XVI returns again and again to the mystery of the Lord who accompanies His people, sustains them, and holds them by the hand.
The title itself expresses this central intuition: the Christian life is not a solitary path, but a journey guided by the presence and mercy of God.
The collection also highlights the continuity between Benedict’s theological work and his pastoral ministry. His reflections are marked by the clarity, spiritual depth, and Christ-centred focus that characterized his pontificate.
A wider project
“The Lord Holds Us by the Hand” is the first volume of Pope Benedict XVI’s unpublished homilies. A second volume, dedicated to homilies from Ordinary Time, is expected to follow.
The Italian edition was presented on May 17 at the Turin International Book Fair during a meeting entitled “Benedict XVI: ‘Christ is a future!’ The unpublished homilies.”
Speakers included Fr. Lombardi and Italian singer-songwriter Giovanni Lindo Ferretti, with the discussion moderated by Andrea Tornielli, Editorial Director of the Dicastery for Communication.
With the publication of the English edition, these previously unpublished texts are now available to a wider readership, offering a renewed encounter with Pope Benedict XVI’s preaching and with his lifelong invitation to place Christ at the heart of faith and history.
