In the twelve months before his death on June 26, 1988, Hans Urs von Balthasar had been writing a series of reflections on the twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed. They appeared, as they were being written, in the pastoral bulletins of a number of German dioceses. Although he himself may not have conceived of them as such, these texts, which are undoubtedly among the last things he worte, take on the character of a legacy, a spiritual testament. For they amount in their extraordinary compactness and depth to a little 'summa' of his theology. What he had set out in detail in numerous books over five decades, he summarises here in contemplative plainness and simplicity.

All the characteristics that make von Balthasar's work so distinctive and valuable are to be found here: breadth of vision, loveliness of style, and an intuitive-contemplative passion that, in the words of Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, allows him to 'pray intellectually and think "cordially"'. In his warm and extensive introduction to the book, Medard Kehl speaks of von Balthasar's 'unclouded, almost child-like joy in the richness and beauty of the Mystery' of the threefold God, which 'is evidenced in his interpretation of the creed'.

Hans Urs von Balthasar was the author of innumerable theological works including The Glory of the Lord (Ignatius Press). He was also the spiritual leader of a religious community in Basel, Switzerland.