hildebrand was called "the twentieth-century doctor of the church" by pope pius xii. pope john paul ii also greatly admired the work of hildebrand, remarking once to his widow, alice von hildebrand, "your husband is one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century." benedict xvi also has a particular admiration and regard for hildebrand, whom he knew as a young priest in munich. the degree of pope benedict's esteem is expressed in one of his statements about hildebrand: "when the intellectual history of the catholic church in the twentieth century is written, the name of dietrich von hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time."