We present today the second and final reflection on the theme of Ratzinger's prophecy, curated by arch. Roberto Loggia, following the success of the first, shared and commented on by scholar Andrea Cionci who praised it on his channel.
In the heart of Holy Week, a rigorous reinterpretation of the "prophecy of the little flock" by then professor Joseph Ratzinger – later Pope Benedict XVI – to clarify its authentic meaning and avoid misleading interpretations.
"In the powerful season of Holy Week, when the Christian community prepares to live the Passion, death and Resurrection of the Lord, there is an urgency to offer a second and conclusive reflection on the theme of the "little remnant", completing what was already published two Sundays ago.
The objective this time too is not polemical, but clarifying: to offer tools to evaluate with lucidity interpretations which, though arising from sincere love for Christ, risk departing from the fullness of truth and authentically Catholic faith.
The principal reference is to the so-called "prophecy of the little flock" by then professor Joseph Ratzinger – professor of dogmatic and fundamental theology at various German universities – formulated in 1969 in some radio lectures, in a period marked by profound tensions and transformations in the post-conciliar Church. Today, however, this text is sometimes interpreted improperly, as if the "little flock" alluded to a "small remnant" separated from or opposed to the institutional Church. Such a reading finds no foundation in Ratzinger's words and, in light of the considerations that follow, proves incompatible with its authentic meaning.
The Little Flock: not a rupture, but a purification
Ratzinger describes with extraordinary lucidity the crisis of the contemporary Church: "From today's crisis a Church will emerge that will have lost much. It will become small and must start again more or less from the beginning..."
This is not the prediction of a fracture nor the birth of a distinct reality, but the announcement of a historical crisis from which the Church itself is destined to emerge transformed, purified and reduced in scale.
The term "will emerge" assumes a decidedly ontological value: it indicates real and substantial continuity between the present Church and the future one. What will appear is not born from outside nor does it oppose itself, but was already ontologically present in the Church itself.
It follows that any hypothesis of separation is excluded: separation would imply a diversity of substance, while emergence refers to an identity that persists through change.
The little flock thus configures itself as the Church of the future, fruit of its contraction and purification, and not as an external or antagonistic group.
Historic Buildings: Visible Sign of Continuity
Ratzinger also observes: "The Church will no longer be able to inhabit many of the buildings it had constructed in the period of prosperity."
This statement is not a marginal or merely descriptive detail, but a decisive passage for understanding the nature of the little flock and the future Church. Historic buildings – monumental churches, basilicas and imposing structures – represent not merely an artistic or cultural patrimony, but visibly embody the history, continuity and concreteness of the Church through time.
The fact that the future Church will no longer be able to use them fully, due to the diminishment of the faithful, does not suggest a rupture, but confirms an internal contraction: it is the same Church which, though reduced, continues to exist and carry with it its own historical legacy.
This element serves to exclude every hypothesis of separation, and does so radically: if the Church of the future had been understood, in Ratzinger's vision, as an external or alternative entity to the Church of origins, it would have no real relationship with buildings constructed and inhabited by the Church over the centuries. A foreign subject – even if it had become so at a certain moment – does not "cease to inhabit" what it never possessed or does not in any case possess any longer.
On the contrary, the language used by Ratzinger presupposes real and concrete continuity: it is the same Church which, having constructed those structures in the time of prosperity, now finds itself unable to inhabit them fully.
In this perspective, the buildings become tangible symbols of the permanence of the Church of Christ and the presence of Christ in the Church itself: material witnesses of a continuity that traverses the crisis without breaking.
The reference to monuments and historic structures thus assumes a precise theological value: it recalls the visible and institutional dimension of the Church, its historical identity and its permanence through time. This is not merely a sociological datum, but a concrete sign of ecclesial indefectibility.
It follows that the little flock of which Ratzinger speaks cannot be interpreted as a separate or alternative reality, but coincides with the Church itself, reduced in number and purified in its life.
Every attempt to read in these words a legitimation of external groups fails in the face of the evidence of the heritage and ownership of historic buildings: precisely the recourse to what has been constructed and inhabited over the centuries confirms that the subject which "emerges" is the same that has traversed history. By recalling monuments and structures, Ratzinger thus confirms, in an unequivocal manner, the permanence of the one Church of Christ in the institutional apparatus, guardian of historical continuity, of communion with legitimate hierarchy and of sacramental unity.
A More Spiritual Church, Not a New Church
Ratzinger affirms: "It will become a more spiritual Church, which will no longer presume a political mandate… but will be a community of conviction."
This is not the birth of an alternative community, but of a Church renewed from within, purified of every form of worldliness and made more authentic in its adherence to Christ.
And he adds: "When this sifting test has passed, from an internalized and simplified Church a great force will emerge."
The destiny of the Church is not dissolution, but a regeneration born through trial: a reduced but profoundly renewed community, capable of making visible, through its own zeal, the Shepherd.
Little Remnant and Little Flock: A Necessary Distinction
Although in theological language the two terms are often considered synonymous, it is held that, in the specific context of the 1969 lectures, the meaning of little flock assumes its own precise nuance, such as to delineate it as an entity not perfectly overlapping with the concept of little remnant. The latter, understood as the most faithful part of believers, already present in the Church and ontologically bound to it (re-main vs ob-stand) is a category – as we have seen – deeply rooted in Sacred Scripture. Already in the Old Testament, the prophets announce that, in trials and God's judgments, a part of the people will remain faithful: it is the "remnant of Israel" of which speak, among others, the Book of Isaiah (Is 10,20-22) and the Book of Zephaniah (Zep 3,12-13). These are those who, though immersed in crisis, do not abandon the Covenant and remain firmly anchored to God.
This reality also traverses the New Testament: Saint Paul, in the Letter to the Romans (Rom 11,5), speaks of a "remnant chosen by grace", confirming the permanence of this logic within the history of salvation.
Different, though closely connected, seems to be the meaning of the little flock explained by Ratzinger. The expression can be traced back to that used in the Gospel, linked to a future perspective, where the Lord states: "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Lk 12,32).
It is not therefore a "group", a "part", a "remnant" (albeit internal), but the entire community of disciples called to live in the future perspective, in trust and in communion with Christ.
The relationship between the two realities is essential: the little remnant represents the faithful nucleus already present in the Church, while the little flock – in conformity with Ratzinger's vision – is the face that the Church will assume after purification, also thanks to the perseverance of that remnant.
The decisive element is one alone in both cases: permanence in ecclesial communion.
The little remnant does not separate itself, and precisely for this reason contributes to the birth of the little flock.
It follows that both expressions, far from justifying any form of division, call forcefully for fidelity, perseverance and communion in the same Church.
The Risk of a Sectarian Reading
In light of this picture, the idea of a "little flock" as a separated group places itself outside the Catholic vision and introduces a schema with sectarian traits: a community deemed pure opposed to a Church considered irremediably corrupted. Catholic faith, instead, recognizes the crisis, but does not admit that the Church can be abandoned by Christ.
Ratzinger's Ecclesiological Vision
This interpretation finds confirmation in the ecclesiological vision of Cardinal Ratzinger, deeply rooted in Catholic tradition.
For him, the Church is a visible and historical reality, founded on apostolic succession and communion with Peter the Apostle, essential principle of unity. A perspective defended throughout his career, until his magisterium as Pope Benedict XVI, who became one of the greatest, most learned and illustrious Pontiffs in the history of the Church.
It follows the impossibility of attributing to him a vision that legitimizes separation, which would imply the denial of the indefectibility of the Church and its sacramental foundation.
Crisis and Fidelity: A Trial, Not a Justification
Nothing of what has been said nevertheless denies the possibility of internal corruption or anomalies in the governance of the Church; however, they do not justify separation, but call to the responsibility of remaining and contributing to its renewal.
The Lord remains with his Church (Mt 28,20), and – as the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 811-815) reminds us – it is guarded in truth even though composed of sinful members, who, as history demonstrates, can even go so far as to attempt the usurpation of its highest governing apparatus.
Final Exhortation
In this Holy Week, we ask the Lord for the grace to fully understand the authentic meaning of the words of Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, as they emerge also from the Sacred Scriptures.
We also ask for his intercession, so that we may remain faithful in ecclesial communion, becoming part of that little remnant which, without separating itself, contributes each day, with faith, hope and charity, to the renewal of the Church".
Arch. Roberto Loggia
