Ratzinger Foundation

Ratzinger Foundation
Founded	21 December 2007
Type	Charitable organization
Location	Munich, Germany;
Fields	The promotion of theology in the spirit of Joseph Ratzinger
Key people	President Giuseppe Antonio Scotti; Camillo Cardinal Ruini, head of the scientific committee; Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., chairman of the board of directors; Christoph Cardinal Schönborn;
Revenue	£1.6 million
Website	ratzinger-papst-benedikt-stiftung.de (German); fondazioneratzinger.va/content/fondazioneratzinger/it.html;

The Ratzinger Foundation, also known as The Pope Benedict XVI Foundation, is a charitable organization whose aim is "the promotion of theology in the spirit of Joseph Ratzinger." which it achieves by funding scholarships and bursaries for poorer students across the world. The foundation was launched on the initiative of the Ratzinger Circle of Alumni in December 2007.

The foundation makes much of its money from the selling of Pope Benedict XVI's writings. In 2007, £1.6 million was raised for the charity by the selling of Pope Benedict's biography on Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.

The charity also receives private donations and has close links with the Ratzinger Circle of Alumni (Ratzinger Schülerkreis), a group of theology students who, at doctoral and post-doctoral level, studied under the tutorship of then Professor Ratzinger. The Circle was formed after Ratzinger was elevated to the position of Archbishop of Munich.