An Important Announcement from Ignatius Press

POPE'S NEW BOOK on JESUS to be PUBLISHED by IGNATIUS PRESS

Second volume of Jesus of Nazareth to be released in Spring 2011

SAN FRANCISCO, July 29, 2010 – Pope Benedict XVI's second volume of "Jesus of Nazareth"--"From His Transfiguration to His Death and Resurrection"--will be published in English by Ignatius Press, according to an agreement between Ignatius Press and the Vatican's Publishing House, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV).

Slated for release in Spring 2011, the much-anticipated second volume of "Jesus of Nazareth" takes up where the first volume, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, left off.

"We are eagerly awaiting Volume II because it will contain the Holy Father's reflections on the central mysteries of our faith: the Passion, Death, and Resurrection," says Ignatius Press Founder and Editor, Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio. Father Fessio is a former student of Pope Benedict.

The sequel volume is expected to address such controversial questions as: who was responsible for Jesus' death? Did Jesus establish the Church to carry on his work? How did he view his suffering and death? How should we? And, most importantly, did Jesus really rise from the dead?

"Jesus remains controversial," notes Ignatius Press President Mark Brumley. "Christians believe he is the Son of God, the founder of the Church, and the Savior of the world. For non-Christians, Jesus is almost  anything else – a myth, a revolutionary, or a prophet whose teaching was misunderstood or distorted by his followers."

Benedict XVI insists Jesus is the Son of God, yet the Pope acknowledges that opinion is divided. He brings readers face-to-face with the challenge of Jesus. What to make of a real man who taught and acted in ways tantamount to claims of divine authority? Believers and unbelievers alike must come to their own judgment about Jesus and what he means for them. The second volume of "Jesus of Nazareth" will help them to do so.

Ignatius Press is the primary English-language publisher of the works of Pope Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzinger.

For more information about "Jesus of Nazareth: From His Transfiguration to His Death and Resurrection," or to schedule an interview with Fr. Joseph Fessio or Mark Brumley, please contact Christine Schicker with the Maximus Group at 404-610-8871.

---

• Biography of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• All books by or about Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• Excerpts from books by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• Articles about Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI

---

Comments

[Elizabeth]

I found the first volume wonderful and await this one eagerly. It is not a huge surprise but really great news if Ignatius will be the first publisher this time. Will it be in hardcover first and then softcover later on? Why was Ignatius not the first publisher for the previous volume--was there not great enough distribution capacity at that time? Or outbid by Doubleday for the rights, or?

[Dan]

Congratulations to Ignatius Press.

I do not believe that the New York Times or LA Times ever reviewed the first volume. This has puzzled me since the book is newsworthy, presses directly on the "hot button" issue of religion (usually of much interest to the New York Times Book Review section), and is of substantial intellectual importance. I have no idea of how the politics of what gets reviewed and what does not works, but I'm guessing that if the first volume was not reviewed the second won't be either. I would like though to see the second volume reviewed by the mainstream press, even if the reviews are negative. Secular efforts to engage and challenge the Pope's ideas make for interesting reading, in my opinion. I presume that a NYT review would also substantially help sales.

[Bryan]

Wow. Congratulations.

When is that big announcement?

[Brian J. Schuettler]

" This has puzzled me ..."
We are talking about the NYT and LAT...enough said.

[DN]

Bryan, it's pretty big news for the press. Maybe you didn't realize the last version (hard cover) was *not* published by Ignatius, which is pretty much a usurpation of its prior relationship with Ratzinger, before he became pope. It also means it's in the hands of a Catholic, and not secular, publisher, which is pretty significant.

But, yes, it certainly *was* called in the com box in that previous post.

[Bryan]

DN. I was in a hurry getting out the door and was trying to make a joke. I should have included a winky smiley face, but didn't. Sort of had a sarcastic ring to it, but it was not intended.

I'm thrilled for Ignatius press on this one. Never have I been more excited to give them my money.

[Paul H]

This is awesome news for Ignatius Press. I'm very glad to hear it. I thought that the first volume of Jesus of Nazareth was excellent (and a much easier read than the few other Ratzinger books that I have read, or at least started reading). I look forward to the second volume.

[Mark Brumley]

The book will be released first in hardcover and sometime later in softcover. Pretty standard arrangement, that. I think this is going to be a very important book. Pope Benedict takes scripture scholarship seriously. He is no fundamentalist. At the same time, he recognizes the many serious shortcoming of a historical-critical-only-reductionist approach.

It will be fascinating to read Benedict XVI on the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord, and all the controversies surrounding these great salvific events.