page_title: Pope Benedict XVI
section_title: Tone of papacy
hierarchical_section_title: Pope Benedict XVI / Papacy: 2005–2013 / Tone of papacy
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Papst Benedikt XVI. in seinem Papamobil nach der Messe zu seiner Amtseinführung. English: Pope Benedict XVI in his popemobile after the inauguration mass. English: El Papa Benedicto XVI en el "Papamóvil" tras la misa de inauguración. Norsk bokmål: Pave Benedict XVI i Pavebilen hans etter invielsesmessen. Polski: Papież Benedykt XVI w Papamobile po mszy inauguracyjnej.
context_page_description: Pope Benedict XVI is a retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as head of the Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2005 until his resignation in 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 by the title "pope emeritus" upon his resignation.
  Ordained as a priest in 1951 in his native Bavaria, Ratzinger embarked on an academic career and established himself as a highly regarded theologian by the late 1950s. He was appointed a full professor in 1958 at the age 31. After a long career as a professor of theology at several German universities, he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising and Cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1977, an unusual promotion for someone with little pastoral experience. In 1981, he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most important dicasteries of the Roman Curia. From 2002 until his election as pope, he was also Dean of the College of Cardinals.
context_section_description: During his inaugural Mass, the previous custom of every cardinal submitting to the Pope was replaced by having twelve people, including cardinals, clergy, religious, a married couple and their child, and newly confirmed people, greet him. (The cardinals had formally sworn their obedience upon his election.) He began using an open-topped papal car, saying that he wanted to be closer to the people. Pope Benedict continued the tradition of his predecessor John Paul II and baptised several infants in the Sistine Chapel at the beginning of each year, on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, in his pastoral role as Bishop of Rome.
caption: Pope Benedict XVI's first trip in a popemobile
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