Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI
Bishop of Rome
Benedict XVI in 2010
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	19 April 2005
Papacy ended	28 February 2013
Predecessor	John Paul II
Successor	Francis I
Orders
Ordination	29 June 1951 by Michael von Faulhaber
Consecration	28 May 1977 by Josef Stangl
Created cardinal	27 June 1977 by Paul VI
Personal details
Birth name	Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger
Born	(1927-04-16)16 April 1927 Marktl, Bavaria, German Reich
Died	31 December 2022(2022-12-31) (aged 95) Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, Vatican City
Nationality	German Vatican
Previous post(s)	Dean of the College of Cardinals (2002–2005) Cardinal Bishop of Ostia (2002–2005) Cardinal Bishop of Velletri–Segni (1993–2005) Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1982–2005) President of the International Theological Commission (1982–2005) President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (1982–2005) Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino (1977–1993) Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1977–1982)
Motto	Cooperatores veritatis (Latin for 'Cooperators of the truth')
Signature
Coat of arms
Philosophy career
Notable work	Jesus of Nazareth Introduction to Christianity Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life Deus caritas est
Era	Contemporary philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Platonism Augustinism
Main interests	Christian theology ecclesiology
Notable ideas	Rejection of dehellenization Hermeneutic of continuity
Influences Aristotle St. Paul Plato John Paul II Boethius Bonaventure Justin Martyr Clement of Alexandria Aquinas Albertus Magnus Augustine Pseudo-Dionysius John of Damascus John of Patmos Marcus Aurelius Proclus of Constantinople Teresa of Avila Origen Solovyov Socrates Spaemann
For other uses, see Pope Benedict XVI (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Pope Benedict XVI (disambiguation).
Ordination history
History Diaconal ordination Ordained by " Date 29 October 1950 Priestly ordination Ordained by Michael von Faulhaber Date 29 June 1951 Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Josef Stangl Co-consecrators " and " Date 28 May 1977 Cardinalate Elevated by Pope Paul VI Date 27 June 1977 For other uses, see Pope Benedict XVI (disambiguation).
Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI as principal consecrator Alberto Bovone 12 May 1984 Zygmunt Zimowski 25 May 2002 Josef Clemens 6 January 2004 Bruno Forte 8 September 2004 Mieczysław Mokrzycki 29 September 2007 Francesco Giovanni Brugnaro 29 September 2007 Gianfranco Ravasi 29 September 2007 Tommaso Caputo 29 September 2007 Sergio Pagano 29 September 2007 Vincenzo Di Mauro 29 September 2007 Gabriele Giordano Caccia 12 September 2009 Franco Coppola 12 September 2009 Pietro Parolin 12 September 2009 Raffaello Martinelli 12 September 2009 Giorgio Corbellini 12 September 2009 Savio Hon Tai-Fai 5 February 2011 Marcello Bartolucci 5 February 2011 Celso Morga Iruzubieta 5 February 2011 Antonio Guido Filipazzi 5 February 2011 Edgar Peña Parra 5 February 2011 Charles John Brown 6 January 2012 Marek Solczyński 6 January 2012 Angelo Vincenzo Zani 6 January 2013 Fortunatus Nwachukwu 6 January 2013 Georg Gänswein 6 January 2013 Nicolas Henry Marie Denis Thevenin 6 January 2013 For other uses, see Pope Benedict XVI (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Pope Benedict XVI (disambiguation).
Other popes named Benedict

For other uses, see Pope Benedict XVI (disambiguation).

Papal styles of Pope Benedict XVI
Reference style	His Holiness
Spoken style	Your Holiness
Religious style	Holy Father

For other uses, see Pope Benedict XVI (disambiguation).

Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus XVI; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as pope occurred in the 2005 papal conclave that followed the death of Pope John Paul II. Benedict chose to be known as "Pope emeritus" upon his resignation, and he retained this title until his death in 2022.

Benedict XVI was elected Pope at the age of 78. He is the oldest person to have been elected Pope since Pope Clement XII (1730–40). He had served longer as a cardinal than any Pope since Benedict XIII (1724–30). He is the ninth German Pope, the eighth having been the Dutch-German Pope Adrian VI (1522–23) from Utrecht. The last Pope named Benedict was Benedict XV, an Italian who reigned from 1914 to 1922, during World War I (1914–18).

Born in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany, Ratzinger had a distinguished career as a university theologian before being appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI (1963–78). Shortly afterwards, he was made a cardinal in the consistory of June 27 1977. He was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II in 1981 and was also assigned the honorific title of the cardinal bishop of Velletri-Segni on April 5 1993. In 1998, he was elected sub-dean of the College of Cardinals. And on November 30 2002, he was elected dean, taking, as is customary, the title of Cardinal bishop of the suburbicarian diocese of Ostia. He was the first Dean of the College elected Pope since Paul IV (1555–59) and the first cardinal bishop elected Pope since Pius VIII (1829–30).

Even before becoming Pope, Ratzinger was one of the most influential men in the Roman Curia, and was a close associate of John Paul II. As Dean of the College of Cardinals, he presided over the funeral of John Paul II and over the Mass immediately preceding the 2005 conclave in which he was elected. During the service, he called on the assembled cardinals to hold fast to the doctrine of the faith. He was the public face of the church in the sede vacante period, although, technically, he ranked below the Camerlengo in administrative authority during that time. Like his predecessor, Benedict XVI affirms traditional Catholic doctrine.

In addition to his native German, Benedict XVI fluently speaks Italian, French, English, Spanish and Latin and also has a knowledge of Portuguese. He can read Ancient Greek and biblical Hebrew. He has stated that his first foreign language is French. He is a member of a large number of academies, such as the French Académie des sciences morales et politiques. He plays the piano and has a preference for Mozart and Bach.

On 11 February 2013, the Vatican confirmed that Benedict XVI would resign the papacy on 28 February 2013, as a result of his advanced age, becoming the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. The move was considered unexpected. In modern times, all popes have stayed in office until death. Benedict is the first pope to have resigned without external pressure since Celestine V in 1294.

In a statement, Benedict cited his deteriorating strength and the physical and mental demands of the papacy; addressing his Cardinals in Latin, Benedict gave a brief statement announcing his resignation. He also declared that he would continue to serve the church "through a life dedicated to prayer".

According to a statement from the Vatican, the timing of the resignation was not caused by any specific illness but was to "avoid that exhausting rush of Easter engagements".

On the appointed day and hour, and after two weeks of ceremonial farewells, the Pope left office and the time of sede vacante was declared.

Paul Collins suggested that the elevation of the Pope's personal assistant, Georg Gänswein, to archbishop in early December 2012 (he was ordained as bishop on 6 January 2013) was an indication of the impending resignation of Benedict XVI.

See also

• Pope