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.Ratzinger, George; Michael Hesseman; Michael J. Miller My Brother, the Pope 2011 Ingatius Press San Francisco page 160  He was a professor at several German universities, including the University of BonnKung, Hans Disputed Truth: Memoirs II Continuum International Publishing Group New York New York 2007 page 11 and the University of Münster.Streissguth, Thomas Pope Benedict XVI Lerner Publishing Group Minneapolis Minnesota 2007  He also taught at the University of Tübingen.Bernstein, Richard et al.  "Turbulence on Campus in 60's Hardened Views of Future Pope," New York Times. April 24, 2005; retrieved 2011-10-26. and the University of Regensburg.Seewald, Peter; Brian McNeil Pope Benedict XVI: Servant of the Truth Ignatius Press San Francisco 2006 page 185

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.Heim, Maximillian Heinrich; Michael J. Miller Joseph Ratzinger: Life in the Church and Living Theology: Fundamentals of Ecclesiology with Reference to Lumen Gentium Ignatius Press San Francisco 2007 page 211
He became Dean of the College of Cardinals.Pope Benedict XVI; Jurgen Habermas Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion  Ignatius Press San Francisco 2006  page 82 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?"Goodstein, Laurie and Elisabetta Povoledo.   "Before Smoke Rises at Vatican, It's Romans vs. the Reformers," New York Times. March 11, 2013; Ivereigh, Austen.  "Does cardinal confusion spell a long conclave?"  Our Sunday Visitor. 11 March
By Austen Ivereigh; excerpt, "A former communications director to the Archbishop emeritus of Westminster (England), Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, he accompanied the cardinal to Rome in 2005 for the funeral of Pope John Paul II and election of Pope Benedict XVI"; retrieved 2013-3-12.  He chose to be called Benedict XVI.Collins, Michael The Vatican: Secrets and Treasures of the Holy City DK New York 2011 page 78Note on ordinal numbering: Popes Benedict XI–XVI are really the 10th–15th popes with that name.  This is because Benedict X is now parsed as an antipope; but during the reign of Benedict XI, this was not recognized. The "true" or actual fifteenth pope Benedict identifies himself with the ordinal number XVI.  In other words, the numbering of popes after the 10th Benedict needs to be explained -- compare Popes Boniface VIII–IX.

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."Benedict XVI, "Declaratio" (Declaration) at Vatican.va, 11 February 2012; retrieved 2012-2-11. 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. WorldCat Identities,  Ratzinger, Joseph 
 Introduction to Christianity (1968)Pope Benedict XVI Introduction to Christianity Ignatius Press San Francisco 2004
 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.WorldCat Identities,  Benedict XVI Pope 1927- 
 Jesus of Nazareth: from the baptism in the Jordan to the transfiguration (2007)Pope Benedict XVI Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration Volume 1 Doubleday a division of Random House, Inc New York 2007
 Without roots: the West, relativism, Christianity, Islam (2006)Pope Benedict XVI Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam Basic Books 2006

Related pages
 Abdication
 Georg Ratzinger (brother)

References

 Other websites 

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

Category:1927 births
Category:2022 deaths
Category:German popes
Category:Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Category:People from Bavaria
Category:Deans of the College of Cardinals
Category:21st century in religion
Category:Deaths from respiratory failure