The leadership of the Joseph Ratzinger–Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation has been renewed following the expiry of its five-year terms, with Father Roberto Regoli appointed as the new president.
The renewal was confirmed in a communiqué issued by the Holy See Press Office on 27 January, in accordance with the Foundation’s statutes, which provide for the expiration and rotation of all governing bodies every five years. With the previous term concluding in 2025, the Secretariat of State, to which the Foundation is formally attached, oversaw the appointments and changes.
Father Regoli succeeds Father Federico Lombardi SJ, who has led the Foundation for the past decade. A historian of the Church and professor of contemporary history at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Father Regoli also directs the university’s Department of Church History and the academic journal Archivium Historiae Pontificiae.
The new president was appointed by the Secretariat of State as head of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Other members of the board include Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the former personal secretary of Benedict XVI and now Apostolic Nuncio to Lithuania; Professor Achim Buckenmaier; the lawyer Francesca Bazoli; and Dr Alberto Gasbarri, formerly administrative director of Vatican Radio and a long-time organiser of papal apostolic journeys.
In a note accompanying the announcement, Father Regoli paid tribute to his predecessor, describing Father Lombardi as “the public and serene face of the Foundation”, who had guided its work “with prudence and confidence” over the past ten years. Father Lombardi, 83, previously served for a decade as director of the Holy See Press Office, where he was a familiar figure during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
The renewal also affects the Foundation’s Scientific Committee, whose members are appointed directly by the Pope. The committee now includes Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime; Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella; Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer; and Archbishop Bruno Forte.
The Board of Auditors has likewise been reconstituted. Dr Aurelio Ingrassia has been appointed president by the Secretariat for the Economy, with Dr Andrea Filippi and Dr Giuseppe Mascarucci named as members by the Secretariat of State.
Expressing gratitude to those whose mandates have ended, Father Regoli thanked Pope Leo and Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin for what he described as their “attentive benevolence” towards the Foundation and for the confidence placed in him. Of Father Lombardi, he wrote: “We know that he can remain a point of reference for all of us. We wish him to reap abundantly what he has sown.”
Founded in 2010, the Joseph Ratzinger–Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation was established to promote the study and dissemination of the theological and intellectual legacy of the German Pope through academic research, conferences, publications and cultural initiatives. Over the past fifteen years, it has played a central role in keeping Benedict XVI’s thought present within ecclesial and academic debates.
Looking ahead, Father Regoli said the Foundation was entering “an exciting five-year period”, with preparations already under way for the centenary of Joseph Ratzinger’s birth in 2027.
“The legacy of Ratzinger, as theologian and Pope, is very much alive,” Father Regoli said, adding that it continues to act as “a source and confirmation of many personal paths of conversion throughout the world”. He argued that Benedict XVI’s thought “not only has something to say, but can make a significant contribution to the theological and cultural debates of our time”.
Father Regoli’s appointment is widely understood as a steady and practical choice for a foundation whose work sits at the crossroads of the current political situation in the Curia. At the Pontifical Gregorian University, Regoli has spent years balancing teaching, research and administration, while overseeing international scholarly projects and peer-reviewed publications, according to his publicly available curriculum vitae.
His suitability is further reinforced by his direct involvement in preparations for the centenary of Joseph Ratzinger’s birth in 2027. As president of the International Committee established for the anniversary, he has already been working with universities, cultural bodies and Church institutions on the programme of events. That role places him in a strong position to ensure continuity between the Foundation’s existing work and its plans for the coming years. Beyond his academic profile, Regoli is also a diocesan priest with long pastoral experience in Rome.
In retrospect, the Joseph Ratzinger–Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation, while not among the largest or most influential bodies in the modern Roman landscape, remains a principal Vatican-backed institution responsible for coordinating the academic and cultural study of Benedict XVI’s theological work. In practice, the Foundation functions as an in-house safeguard for that legacy, ensuring it remains accessible beyond specialist circles.
