Joseph Ratzinger: a Benedictine at heart?

(Vatican Radio) - In an effort to mark the day the Church remembers Benedict of Nursia on July 11th, Veronica Scarisbrick shines the spotlight on the figure of this Saint.
One from whom Benedict XVI as drawn inspiration throughout his priestly life as he himself mentioned at the beginning of his pontificate :
"...I wish to reiterate the steadfast resolve of the Holy See to continue serving the cause of peace.The very name Benedict which I chose on the day of my assignment to the Chair of Peter is a sign of my personal commitment to peace. In taking this name I wanted to evoke the Patron Saint of Europe who inspired civilisation of peace on the whole continent and Pope Benedict XV who condemned the First World War as a useless slaughter and worked for a universal acknowledgement of the lofty demands of peace..."
To find out more Veronica Scarisbrick interviews the Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation, Notker Wolf. A fellow Bavarian who shares with her his reaction upon learning of the Holy Father's choice to take the name Benedict.
In the course of the interview the Abbott also explains how the young Joseph Ratzinger once contemplated becoming a Benedictine:
"...he knows the Benedictines quite well from Bavaria. In Bavaria we have seventeen Benedictine monasteries...the whole of the Bavarian mentality throughout the centuries has been marked by the Benedictine charism...and Pope Benedict XVI as a young man was thinking of joining a Benedictine monastery ...he loves the Rule of St Benedict .... he's surely continuing along the lines of Pope John Paul II, the fight for a Europe of values. It was on the 24th of October in 1964 that Paul VI had proclaimed at Montecassino Benedict Patron Saint of Europe ..."
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