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

Contact: Christine Schicker, The Maximus Group, 404-610-8871, CSchicker@MaximusMG.com

SAN FRANCISCO, July 29 /Standard Newswire/ -- Pope Benedict XVI's second volume of "Jesus of Nazareth" 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 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 second 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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Benedict XVI was elected pope on April 19, 2005, becoming the 264th successor of Peter as the "Vicar of Christ." Born Joseph Ratzinger, he was for over two decades the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope John Paul II and the President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. A world-renowned theologian, Ratzinger was a theological expert at the Second Vatican Council, and in the years following the council he was one of its prime interpreters. He is probably the most accomplished theologian to be elected pope in modern times. The Italian news agency Zenit reported on July 23 that Benedict XVI has begun work on the third volume of "Jesus of Nazareth," which it reported will focus on Jesus' childhood.

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.