Books on Romano Guardini

Romano Guardini: Reform from the Source

Romano Guardini (1885-1968) was one of the greatest Catholic minds of the twentieth century. He helped shape Catholic theology between the two world wars and after, as well as the thinking of many non-Catholics of the period. His influence contributed to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and it continues to be felt through Pope Benedict, who, as a theologian, a cardinal and now as Pope, has drawn extensively on Guardini for inspiration. Indeed, Guardini was a major theological mentor of Benedict XVI, influencing the Pope from his understanding of Jesus to his writings on the sacred Liturgy, from his view of faith to his perspective on the modern world.

Romano Guardini: Reform from the Source, written by another great theological mind, Hans urs von Balthasar, presents a kind of “roadmap” to Guardini’s thought. As an introduction to Guardini, von Balthasar’s study is intended to challenge readers to take up Guardini’s own writings and to find in him the wisdom that has inspired so many others. Many of Guardini’s influential works are still in print today, works that cover a wide range of important spiritual, theological and moral issues.

“Romano Guardini was one of the most important interpreters of the modern Catholic experience, someone we need to engage again and again. This winsome precis by Hans Urs von Balthasar provides an ideal place to begin.” — R.R. Reno, Featured Editor, First Things, Professor of Theology, Creighton

Romano Guardini: A Precursor of Vatican II University of Notre Dame Press (December 1997)

In Romano Guardini: A Precursor of Vatican II, Robert Krieg tells the story of one of the most creative theologians in the twentieth century, who anticipated Vatican II's commitment to read "the signs of the times." No other volume in the English language offers such a complete portrait of Guardini and his world. Exploring the context in which Guardini learned and taught, Krieg introduces us to his pastoral leadership, particularly in the liturgical and youth movements. Drawing on the more than 75 books and 100 articles written by Guardini, this book then examines the recurring major themes of his theology: divine revelation as God's self-disclosure, the church as Christian community, liturgy as play in God's presence, literature as expression of religious experience, Nazism as negation of personal existence, Jesus Christ as mediator, and Christian acceptance of modernity. Although he never intended to promote an ecumenical council of reform, Guardini's career-long commitment to both Judeo-Christian wisdom and intellectual exchange with contemporary thought resulted in his becoming widely regarded as a major precursor of the Second Vatican Council. Respected theologians such as Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger have acknowledged their indebtedness to him.

Romano Guardini: Proclaiming the Sacred in a Modern World, by Robert A. Krieg (Editor). Liturgy Training Publications (September 1995)