Benedict XVI

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Bishop Emeritus of Rome
Benedict XVI in 2010
Papacy began	19 April 2005
Papacy ended	28 February 2013
Predecessor	John Paul II
Successor	Francis
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 (age 89) Marktl, Germany
Nationality	German (with Vatican citizenship)
Residence	Mater Ecclesiae, Vatican City
Parents	Joseph Ratzinger, Sr. and Maria Ratzinger (née Peintner)
Previous post	Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1977–1982) Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino (1977–1993) President of the International Theological Commission (1981–2005) Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1981–2005) President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (1981–2005) Cardinal-Bishop of Velletri-Segni (1993–2005) Dean of the College of Cardinals (2002–2005) Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia (2002–2005)
Motto	Cooperatores veritatis (cooperators of the truth)
Signature
Coat of arms

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

Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger; German pronunciation: [ˈjoːzɛf ˈalɔʏzjʊs ˈʁatsɪŋɐ]; on 16 April 1927) reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. He was elected pope on 19 April 2005, was inaugurated on 24 April 2005 and renounced the Petrine office on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election occurred in a papal conclave following the death of Pope John Paul II.

Ordained as a priest in 1951 in his native Bavaria, Ratzinger established himself as a highly regarded university theologian by the late 1950s and was appointed a full professor in 1958. After a long career as an academic and 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. Prior to becoming Pope, he was "a major figure on the Vatican stage for a quarter of a century"; he had an influence "second to none when it came to setting church priorities and directions" as one of John Paul II's closest confidants.