Professor Friar Wayne Hellmann Participates in a Conference with Pope Benedict XVI
Friar Wayne Hellmann and Pope Benedict XVI
Conventual Franciscan Friar Wayne Hellmann is in longstanding Franciscan tradition a scholar. A native of Terre Haute, Indiana, he holds a doctorate in theology from the renowned Ludwig-Maximilians-Universtät in Munich, Germany and teaches at St. Louis University.
Munich, Germany
Recently, Friar Wayne took part in a conference of theologians during which he and his fellow attendees critiqued a section of Joseph Ratzinger’s second dissertation, which had been rejected half a century ago by his professors from the University of Munich.
Bagnoreggio
Never published until this year as part of a series of the now pope’s works, the dissertation focuses on how St. Bonaventure understood revelation. Perhaps not surprisingly, Friar Wayne is highly qualified to speak about St. Bonaventure. His doctoral dissertation analyzed the Franciscan saint’s theology.
Castel Gandolfo
The conference on Joseph Ratzinger’s second dissertation was divided into two parts. The first took place in Bagnoreggio (Italy) – the birthplace of St. Bonaventure. For the second part of the conference, the attendees gathered at Castel Gandolfo – an extraterritorial papal residence used by the pope during summer seasons. Pope Benedict also took part in the attendees’ Castel Gandolfo discussion, thanking each one of them after the conference had finished. When Friar Wayne spoke with Pope Benedict, he reminded the pontiff that many years ago when as a young man he was wondering where he should pursue his doctoral studies, Joseph Ratzinger advised him to go to Munich. This is exactly what Friar Wayne did. |
