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2026 Benedict XVI Conference

Beauty Will Save Us:
Wonder and Hope in the Works of Benedict XVI

Join Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Nov. 2-3, 2026 for a two-day event to honor the legacy and celebrate the centenary (1927-2027) of the birth of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI.

Registration opens in July

Event details

Monday, Nov. 2, 2026

Holy Mass

  • Liturgy: Solemn Requiem Mass: Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Principal Celebrant, His Eminence Kurt Cardinal Koch*
  • Time: 6:30 p.m.
  • Location: Church of Saint Agnes, 535 Thomas Ave. W, Saint Paul, Minn.
    • *Public reception after Mass

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026

Holy Mass

  • Liturgy: Holy Mass with Principal Celebrant, His Excellency Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis
  • Time: 7:30 a.m.
  • Location: Cathedral of Saint Paul, 239 Selby Ave., Saint Paul, Minn.

Conference

  • Location: Saint Mary’s University Center, 2540 Park Ave., Minneapolis, Minn.
  • Doors Open, Registration, and Continential Breakfast: 8:00 a.m.
  • Time: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.*
  • Reception: 5:30 p.m.
    • *Conference proceedings will promptly start with opening remarks at 9:30am

Keynote speaker —
His Eminence Kurt Cardinal Koch

Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, will deliver the keynote address titled “Rebuilding a Culture of Hope.”

Cardinal Koch was born March 15, 1950 in Emmenbrücke, Diocese of Basel (Switzerland). He was ordained a Catholic priest on June 20, 1982 and served as a parish priest until 1985. He completed his doctorate in theology in 1987 and became a professor of dogmatic theology and liturgy at the University of Lucerne in 1989 and then Rector of the theology faculty in 1995. On December 6, 1995, he was appointed Bishop of Basel and from 2007 – 2009, he served as President of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference. On July 1, 2010, he was appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity with the title of archbishop.

At the end of August 2010, Pope Benedict XVI entrusted him with the role of Principal-Relator to the so-called Ratzinger Schülkreis, a group of the Pope’s former students who meet annually at Castel Gandolfo, and held many conferences on the correct interpretation of the Second Vatican Council and on liturgical reform. He was created a Cardinal by the Pope in the Consistory of November 20, 2010.

Speakers and Panelists

The Most Reverend Robert Barron, STL, STD
Bishop, Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Trustee, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Father James Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
President, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Scott Hahn, Ph.D.
Founder / President, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

Father Roberto Regoli, Ph.D.
President, The Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation

Pierluca Azzaro, Ph.D.
Benedict XVI Chair, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Michael Hahn, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, School of Education, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Tracey Rowland, Ph.D.
St. John Paul II Chair of Theology, Professor, University of Notre Dame Australia

Father Maurice Agbaw-Ebai, Ph.D.
Professor of Theology, Catholic Institute of Technology, Italy

Dean Beckman, MS
Associate Professor, Chair
Business & Communication, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Sister Mary Miceala Hoffman, RSM, Ph.D.
Co-Associate Director, Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Sister Mary Ignatius Heil, RSM, Ph.D.
Faculty, Theology and Philosophy, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Brother Robert Smith, FSC, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Join the celebration

This conference is the first of several events over the course of the next year marking the 100th anniversary of Benedict XVI’s birth. The global conference series is titled: Building a Culture of Hope: Education, Community, and Leadership in the 21st Century.

Continue the celebration at the next conference “Constellations of Hope: Africa and the Renewal of the Church in the Vision of Pope Benedict XVI” taking place at Tangaza University in Nairobi, Kenya.

Centenary initiatives Kenya conference info