When the election of Joseph Ratzinger as John Paul II's successor was announced, more than one person's saliva choked. Here he is, Ratzinger Zeta, God's rottweiler, ready to throw his fists or take a bite out of anyone who gets in his way, it was said. During his years at work in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had no shortage of enemies who caricatured him with the most rancid anti-clerical clichés: A 'panzerkardinal' in St. Peter's chair, what will become of us?

But there was a glimmer of hope. With the grim face that the photos took of him, he would not repeat John Paul II's magical mise-en-scène. They did not know the real Ratzinger. That is why Benedict XVI surprised them in Cologne by galvanizing hundreds of thousands of boys and girls, with the same drive as Karol Wojtyla.

John Paul II was part of the party and led it. He enjoyed living immersed in God and seeing the world through his loving eyes, and it made you want to join him in following Jesus Christ closely.
Ratzinger was not born with the vocation of an actor. He is a master of the precise word and the brief text. The most complex knots are untied for those who have thought things through and pondered them in prayer. It is a pleasure to listen to a simple and discreet man, who speaks clearly about the divine and the human. That's why he is so captivating.