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Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Pope
Benedict XVI
Bishop of Rome
Benedykt XVI (2010-10-17) 4.jpg
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 90)
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)
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Papal styles of
Pope Benedict XVI
Coat of Arms of Benedictus XVI.svg
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 ˈalɔʏzi̯ʊs ˈʁatsɪŋɐ]; born 16 April 1927) served as Pope from 2005 until his resignation in 2013. Benedict's election occurred in the 2005 papal conclave that followed the death of Pope John Paul II. Since his resignation, Benedict holds the title of Pope Emeritus.

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.


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