Who is Pope Benedict XVI? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

German Celebrities Born In April

Also Known As: Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger

Age: 97 Years, 97 Year Old Males

Family:

father: Joseph Ratzinger Sr.

mother: Maria Ratzinger

siblings: Georg Ratzinger

German Men German Spiritual & Religious Leaders

Height: 5'7" (170 cm), 5'7" Males

Notable Alumni: University Of Munich

Founder/Co-Founder: Ratzinger Foundation, John Paul II Foundation

More Facts

education: University of Munich

awards: Commander of the Legion of Honour
Bavarian Order of Merit
Bayerische Verfassungsmedaille in Gold

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Doctor honoris causa
Doctor honoris causa
Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art

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Childhood & Early Life

Benedict XVI was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on April 16, 1927 on the Holy Saturday and was baptized the same evening. He was born at the family’s home at Schulstraße in Bavaria, Germany, to Joseph Ratzinger Sr., a police officer, and Maria Ratzinger.

He is the youngest of three siblings. His elder brother, Georg Ratzinger, is a Catholic priest while his sister, Maria Ratzinger passed away in 1991.

He attended elementary school in Aschau am Inn as a child. At the age of five, he was one of the children to welcome the Cardinal Archbishop of Munich. Inspired, he announced his desire to become a cardinal.

He also briefly served in the Second World War. In 1941, Ratzinger was recruited into the Hitler Youth, as made mandatory by the law for 14-year-old German boys to become a member. He trained in the German infantry and was also interned at a prisoner of war camp. He was quite unenthusiastic about it and resented the Nazis quite like his father.

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Career

He was interested to become a priest so he, along with his brother, enrolled in Saint Michael Seminary in Traunstein in November 1945. He later went to study at the Ludwig – Maximilian University in Munich.

He was ordained as a priest along with his brother in 1951 at the hands of Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber.

He obtained his teaching license in 1957. In 1958, he became a professor of fundamental theology at the Freising College and at the University of Bonn in 1959.

During 1960 to 1966, he concentrated on theology, moving to the University of Münster and serving as a theological consultant. He was also appointed at the University of Tübingen during these years. His views stayed surprisingly conservative despite the liberal ideas going about in the theological circles at the time.

From 1976 to 1977, Ratzinger served as the Vice President of the University of Regensburg. In 1977, he became the Archbishop of Munich and Freising. In 1981, Benedict XVI was named as the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II so he resigned from his post in 1982.

He was promoted in the College of Cardinals to become the Cardinal Bishop of Velletri – Segni in 1993 and became the dean of the College in 2002.

In 1997, Pope John Paul II denied Benedict XIV the permission to leave the Congregation and become an archivist in the Vatican Secret Archives.

After the death of Pope John Paul II, Benedict XIV was elected as the 265th Pope in 2005 at the age of 78. He is the oldest person to have been elected Pope since Pope Clement XII.

Major Works

He is known as a major figure in the Vatican for a long period of time. During his time as the Pope, he urged Christians to engage in charitable work. Maintaining the Vatican’s previous ideology about issues such as abortion, homosexuality and contraception, Benedict XVI spoke about Islam in several lectures. Addressing Christianity as ‘the only religion with reason’, he came under a lot of scrutiny. His relations with Judaism and Islam have been quite strained.

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Pope Benedict XVI also spoke against sexual abuse on numerous occasions. He spoke out about the sexual abuse in the Catholic church at the hands of priests in 2001 and did his best to take the necessary action against those involved. He also appointed a special commission to investigate such accusations.He visited victims of sexual abuse by priests and apologized for the abuse inflicted. He also met victims of abuse in Malta and was moved to tears.

He has written over 66 books, 3 encyclicals titled ‘Deus Caritas est’, ‘Spesalvi’,and ‘Caritas in veritate’. He has also written 3 exhortations titled ‘Sacramentum Caritatis’, ‘Verbum Domini’, and ‘Africae munus’. Over 600 of his written works have been published.

He also called for nuclear disarmament and spoke for productive and peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Awards &Honors

He has been a Grand Master of the Order of St. Sylvester, Order of Pius IX, Order of the Golden Spur, Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great, and Supreme of Order of Christ during his papacy.

In 1985, he got the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Bavarian Constitution Medal in Gold.

He also received the Leopold Kunschak Prize, the award for distinguishing works in areas of Human Sciences, Social Science and Economics in 1991.

He received the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria in 1992. He was also awarded the Literature Prize of Anacapri in the same year.

Personal Life

Being an accomplished pianist, Benedict XVI is fond of playing piano and watching old black and white comedy films. He is interested in classical music and favors the works of Mozart and Beethoven.

He has also recorded an album singing to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The album was slated for a release in 2009.

He is fond of cats and his cat Contessina is known to live at his residence. According to his neighbors, he used to look after stray cats living around when he was a Cardinal. He has also been known to have cats around to keep him company during his visits to various countries.

After his retirement, the Pope has been known to spend his time reading and writing.

Trivia

He is fluent in 10 languages.

He still has the stuffed animals that his mother made for him as a child.

He likes orange marmalade.

Pope Benedict XVI Biography