John Cavadini, a professor of patristic theology at the University of Notre Dame, will receive the 2026 Ratzinger Prize.
The Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI announced Cavadini as the winner of the prestigious award at a press briefing in Rome on Sept. 22. The foundation also said Pope Leo XIV will present the award to Cavadini on Dec. 19 at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
Present to announce the winner on Sept. 22 at the Holy See Press Office were Father Roberto Regoli, president of the Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI, and Pierluca Azzaro, secretary of the foundation.
Cavadini will also be the third faculty member from the University of Notre Dame to receive the award, following Cyril O’Regan (2024) and Jesuit Father Brian E. Daley (2012). Since the award was established in 2011, the university has had the most winners of any institution.
In a press release from the foundation, Cavadini expressed gratitude for the award, saying he sought to conduct his theology “as a man of the Church and, at the same time, as a man of academia.”
The unique contributions of American theologians
Cavadini has been affiliated with the University of Notre Dame since joining its faculty of theology in 1990. He also served as the director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life from 2000–2026.
His research and teaching have focused on the theology of St. Augustine, an influential figure of the patristic era.
Regoli praised Cavadini’s work for the “rigor of his theological
publications, his commitment and zeal in university teaching.” Speaking to EWTN News on the sidelines of Tuesday’s press conference, he noted the unique contributions of theologians hailing from the United States.
“Undoubtedly, the cultural debates in the United States of America do not concern only America; they are followed around the rest of the world,” Regoli told EWTN News. “Our cultural traditions have been more influenced by the thought of the United States of America, and for this reason it is important to look toward the Anglo-Saxon world, because in the different fields of science it has taken on a leadership role for several decades.”
The renewed interest in the theology of Joseph Ratzinger
The 2026 Ratzinger Prize is part of numerous initiatives to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Ratzinger, who was later elected Pope Benedict XVI, in 2027.
Regoli also noted the renewed academic interest worldwide in Ratzinger’s life and theological legacy ahead of the anniversary year.
“The legacy of Ratzinger speaks for itself,” Regoli told journalists on the sidelines.
“If we look around us at an international level, even in recent years, Ratzinger chairs have been born everywhere: in Europe, in the United States, in Latin America, and in Africa. Many doctoral theses on him, books on him, or his books continue to be edited; they are numerous, and even for the centenary, many more will come out,” Regoli added.
One of the foundation’s focuses during the anniversary year will be Ratzinger’s legacy in Africa, with Azzaro telling EWTN News that, as pope, Ratzinger “strongly believed that Africa had the spiritual reserves necessary for the West to flourish again.”
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