Pope Benedict XVI’s weeklong Lenten retreat this year will be led by
Discalced Carmelite Father Francois-Marie Lethel, an author and expert
on “the theology of the saints.”
The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, reported this evening
that the pope and top Vatican officials will be on retreat March 13-19
and that Father Lethel, secretary of the Pontifical Academy of Theology,
would offer the meditations.
L’Osservatore said the Carmelite’s topic would be: “The light of
Christ in the heart of the church: John Paul II and the theology of
saints.”
The topic is Father Lethel’s specialty; he has written a book in
French on the theology of saints and another on the Christology of St.
Therese of Lisieux.
The Carmelite nuns of Parma, Italy, have the text of several of Father Lethel’s articles and speeches on their website — in Italian.