Vatican City (AsiaNews) – In choosing the name Benedict XVI, Cardinal Ratzinger laid down the path he wants to follow, that of Benedict XV, known for his action on behalf of peace and mission, and Benedict, patron  saint of Europe, founder of Western Monasticism.

Saint Benedict's mission and the monastic movement he created played a decisive role in spreading Christianity in Europe during the 6th century and shaping the continent's identity.

Then as now, Europe seemed to be losing its faith and identity when, around 500 AD, Benedict left his studies in Rome disgusted with its widespread corruption and founded a monastic community some 65 kilometres (40 miles) from the city in a place called Subiaco.

The Benedictine community became a cultural centre radiating throughout Europe, preserving a great deal of the continent's traditions whilst allowing them to evolve, something that the new Pope presumably wants to underline in a new European Community that refuses to acknowledge its Christian roots.

The choice of Benedict can especially signal a tribute to Benedict XV, a Pontiff who played a decisive role in the history of the Church and whose reign (1914-1922) coincides with the dawn of the contemporary age.

The fundamental and most innovative aspect of his pontificate was the missionary impulse he gave the Church in the encyclical Maximum illud of November 1919.

In the document we can read that knowing the languages and customs of lands of mission does not only serve the purpose of communicating the Gospel's message but also enables it to be expressed in every historical reality.

For the first time, the Church sought to encourage the growth of local Churches and hierarchies rather than relying mainly on missionaries.

At a political level, Benedict XV renewed contacts with China by naming an Apostolic Nuncio in Beijing (against the objections of the dominant powers of the time like Catholic France).

At an ecclesiastic level, he called for the celebration of synods in lands of mission like the one held in Shanghai in 1924, right after his death, whose purpose was to implement Maximum illud.

The interwar period became a time of experimentation for Benedict XV's new method, resulting in the 1926 consecration of China's first six native bishops. What Benedict XV started, others continued.

With this in background, John Paul II could say that Asia was the Church's challenge in the third millennium.

But Benedict XV was equally active in promoting peace among the nations, in helping the needy of every country and creed and in encouraging ecumenical dialogue.

His attempt to prevent and then stop the Great War is well-known. But he ran up against

Liberal-Catholic elites favourable to war against which stood popular Catholicism, whose proponents were well aware that peasants and workers would just fodder for cannon.

His 1917 Peace Note, which was received with contempt even in some Catholic circles, was born from the realisation that everyone would pay for the war and that peace would not be possible without understanding and reconciliation.

Pope Benedict XV, who had known the horrors of war in his youth, wrote in a dramatically prophetic passage in his Peace Note: "Nations do not die in humiliation and revenge; they pass from generation to generation the sorrowful heritage of hatred and retaliation".

Still, with him the Holy See came back to play a role in the diplomatic game, not as leading geopolitical actor but as one using its moral pre-eminence.

During his pontificate millions of people perished, four empires disappeared, colonial rule came to the fore as an issue, Russia underwent a revolution, and the United States of America emerged as big power.

At the beginning of his pontificate 14 countries had representation in the Vatican; at the end, they were 27.

Joseph Ratzinger knows very well the importance of maintaining and widening ties with other governments and religions.

A commitment to the world means large-scale, impartial and systematic humanitarian assistance to war victims, especially children and the families of the fallen.

The Church thus went from Pius IX 'territorial temporalism' and Leo XIII 'social temporalism', to a role defending peace and increasingly human rights.

After the First World War, Muslims erected a statue in Constantinople in Turkey to honour Benedict XV, "the benefactor of all people, irrespective of nationality or religion" as the engraved inscription reads.

Last but not least, Benedict XV oversaw the promulgation of the first Code of Canon Law, a text that is exemplary in its legal precision and clarity.

Like his namesake, Joseph Ratzinger played an important role in the drafting of the second Code of Canon Law when he was Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.