Freiburg / Rome (dpa / lsw) - The Freiburg publisher Herder mourns the loss of its author, the emeritus Pope Benedict XVI as the "Pope of books". Publisher Manuel Herder said on Saturday, according to a statement: "Like no other pope, Benedict XVI stands for being a Christian in which content counts." Joseph Ratzinger signed his first publishing contract with the Herder publishing house in 1956. With more than 60 publications, he is one of the longest-standing and most influential authors at the publishing house. "My grandfather, my father and I were allowed to publish his books," says Manuel Herder.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. died on Saturday morning in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican, the spokesman for the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, announced. The state of health of the native of Bavaria had recently deteriorated. Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope on April 19, 2005, succeeding John Paul II. Benedict was the first German pope in about 480 years.
