Pope Benedict XVI has completed the second volume of his worldwide bestselling book, Jesus of Nazareth, but publication will require "various months", says the Vatican."This second volume is dedicated to the Passion and the Resurrection (of Jesus), and starts where the first volume finished," the Vatican said in a statement.
Copies of the original manuscript written in the pontiff's native German, have been provided to the publishers editing the complete works of Benedict - those dating since his 2005 election and those written when he was Joseph Ratzinger.
Those publishers are the Germany-based Manuel Herder, and to the Holy See's own, Vatican Publishing House.
"The hope is that the publication of the book in the major languages will come about contemporaneously. Yet this, however rapid, will still require various months, given the times necessary for an accurate translation of such an important and long-awaited text," the Vatican said.
The 83-year-old Benedict's intention to work on the book during his July 2009 summer vacation in the Italian Alps suffered a setback when he fell and broke his right wrist.
But the pontiff, who is right-handed, worked intensively on the book during the following August and September - dictating passages into an audio recorder while his wrist was still in plaster - the Vatican said at the time.
The Holy See had also said the book would be published in "early" 2010.
The first volume of Jesus of Nazareth was published in 2007.
The book recounts the story of Jesus in a personal way, while seeking to portray Christ as a historically significant figure.
SIC: TimeLive