Pope Benedict XVI

**Pope Benedict XVI** (; ; , born **Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger**; 16 April 1927  31 December 2022) was a Pope of the Catholic Church. He served as the 265th Pope from 2005 to 2013. In that position, he was both the leader of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Vatican City State. Benedict was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave after the death of Pope John Paul II. He celebrated his papal inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005. He took possession of his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005.

On 11 February 2013, Benedict announced his resignation in a speech in Latin before the cardinals. His reason was a "lack of strength of mind and body" because of his old age. His resignation became effective on 28 February 2013. He was the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. He was the first to resign by choice since Pope Celestine V in 1294. As Pope Emeritus, Benedict retained the style of _His Holiness_, and the title of _Pope_. He continued to dress in the papal colour of white up until his death in 2022. He was succeeded by Pope Francis on 13 March 2013. He moved into the newly renovated _Mater Ecclesiae_ monastery for his retirement on 2 May 2013. In September 2020, Benedict XVI became the longest-lived pope at aged 93.

## Priest

Ratzinger was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1951.  He was a professor at several German universities, including the University of Bonn and the University of Münster.  He also taught at the University of Tübingen. and the University of Regensburg.

## Cardinal

In 1977, Ratzinger was named by Pope Paul VI as a Cardinal and the Archbishop of Munich and Freising.

Cardinal Ratzinger was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
He became Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was a close friend of Pope John Paul II.

In January 2022 a report written by a German law firm found that Benedict XVI had failed to act over four cases of child abuse when he was in charge as Archbishop of Munich. He has denied these reports.

## Pope

In 2005, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope at the age of 78. At the conclave, "it was, if not Ratzinger, who?  And as they came to know him, the question became, why not Ratzinger?"  He chose to be called Benedict XVI.

On 11 February 2013, the pope announced that he would abdicate or resign on 28 February 2013: "I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry." The original declaration was made in Latin. He is the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. He decided to resign then retired on February 28, 2013 in order to take care of his health condition.

## Death

On 28 December 2022, Pope Benedict said he was "very sick". Benedict died on 31 December 2022 at the age of 95. The cause of death was problems caused by respiratory failure. His funeral was held on 5 January 2023.

## Selected works

In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Joseph Ratzinger, OCLC/WorldCat includes roughly 360+ works in 520+ publications in 20 languages as well as library holdings.
- _Introduction to Christianity_ (1968)
- _Einführung in das Christentum: Vorlesungen über das Apostolische Glaubensbekenntnis_ (1968)
- _Das neue Volk Gottes: Entwürfe zur Ekklesiologie_ (1969)
- _Der Gott Jesu Christi: Betrachtungen über den Dreieinigen Gott_ (1976)
- _Eschatologie : Tod und ewiges Leben_ (1977)
- _Principles of Catholic theology: building stones for a fundamental theology_ (1985)
- _Politik und Erlösung: zum Verhältnis von Glaube, Rationalität und Irrationalem in der sogenannten Theologie der Befreiung_ (1986)

As Pope, OCLC/WorldCat identifies 1,400+ works in 2,300+ publications in 33 languages and 55,000+ library holdings.
- _Jesus of Nazareth: from the baptism in the Jordan to the transfiguration_ (2007)
- _Without roots: the West, relativism, Christianity, Islam_ (2006)

## Related pages

- Abdication
- Georg Ratzinger (brother)

## Other websites

- Vatican webpage, Benedict XVI biography
- Pope Benedict XVI Hats
- Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church , Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

## Infobox (christian leader)

- **type**: Pope
- **honorific-prefix**: His Holiness
 Pope
- **name**: Benedict XVI
- **image**: Benedykt XVI (2010-10-17) 2.jpg
- **caption**: Benedict XVI in 2010
- **term start**: 19 April 2005
- **term end**: 28 February 2013
- **predecessor**: Pope John Paul II, John Paul II
- **successor**: Pope Francis, Francis
- **ordination**: 29 June 1951
- **ordained by**: Michael von Faulhaber
- **consecration**: 28 May 1977
- **consecrated by**: Josef Stangl
- **cardinal**: 27 June 1977
- **created cardinal by**: Pope Paul VI
- **birth name**: Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger
- **birth place**: Marktl, Weimar Republic, Germany
- **death place**: Mater Ecclesiae, Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, Vatican City
- **parents**: Joseph Ratzinger, Sr. and Maria Ratzinger (née Peintner)
- **residence**: Mater Ecclesiae, Mater Ecclesiae Monastery
- **nationality**: German (with Vatican citizenship)
- **previous post**: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Archbishop of Munich and Freising
Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino
President of the International Theological Commission
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission
Cardinal-Bishop of Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Velletri-Segni, Velletri-Segni
Dean of the College of Cardinals
Bishop of Ostia, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia
- **motto**: _Cooperatores veritatis_ (cooperators of the truth)
- **signature**: Pope Benedict XVI Signature.svg
- **coat of arms**: Coat of arms of Benedictus XVI.svg
- **other**: Benedict
- **buried**: St. Peter's Basilica,
 Vatican City