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Benedict XVI
Bishop of Rome
Benedykt XVI (2010-10-17) 2
Benedict XVI in 2010
ChurchCatholic Church
Papacy began19 April 2005
Papacy ended28 February 2013
PredecessorJohn Paul II
SuccessorFrancis I
Orders
Ordination29 June 1951
by Michael von Faulhaber
Consecration28 May 1977
by Josef Stangl
Created cardinal27 June 1977
by Paul VI
Personal details
Birth nameJoseph Aloisius Ratzinger
Born(1927-04-16)16 April 1927
Marktl, Bavaria, German Reich
Died31 December 2022(2022-12-31) (aged 95)
Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, Vatican City
Nationality
  • German
  • Vatican
Previous post(s)
  • Dean of the College of Cardinals (2002–2005)
  • Cardinal Bishop of Ostia (2002–2005)
  • Cardinal Bishop of Velletri–Segni (1993–2005)
  • Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1982–2005)
  • President of the International Theological Commission (1982–2005)
  • President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (1982–2005)
  • Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino (1977–1993)
  • Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1977–1982)
MottoCooperatores veritatis
(Latin for 'Cooperators of the truth')
SignatureBenedict XVI's signature
Coat of armsBenedict XVI's coat of arms

Philosophy career
Notable work
  • Jesus of Nazareth
  • Introduction to Christianity
  • Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life
  • Deus caritas est
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
School
  • Platonism[1]
  • Augustinism
Main interests
Notable ideas
  • Rejection of dehellenization
  • Hermeneutic of continuity
Influences
Ordination history
History
Diaconal ordination
Ordained by" [de]
Date29 October 1950
Priestly ordination
Ordained byMichael von Faulhaber
Date29 June 1951
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorJosef Stangl
Co-consecrators" [de] and " [de]
Date28 May 1977
Cardinalate
Elevated byPope Paul VI
Date27 June 1977
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI as principal consecrator
Alberto Bovone12 May 1984
Zygmunt Zimowski25 May 2002
Josef Clemens6 January 2004
Bruno Forte8 September 2004
Mieczysław Mokrzycki29 September 2007
Francesco Giovanni Brugnaro29 September 2007
Gianfranco Ravasi29 September 2007
Tommaso Caputo29 September 2007
Sergio Pagano29 September 2007
Vincenzo Di Mauro29 September 2007
Gabriele Giordano Caccia12 September 2009
Franco Coppola12 September 2009
Pietro Parolin12 September 2009
Raffaello Martinelli12 September 2009
Giorgio Corbellini12 September 2009
Savio Hon Tai-Fai5 February 2011
Marcello Bartolucci5 February 2011
Celso Morga Iruzubieta5 February 2011
Antonio Guido Filipazzi5 February 2011
Edgar Peña Parra5 February 2011
Charles John Brown6 January 2012
Marek Solczyński6 January 2012
Angelo Vincenzo Zani6 January 2013
Fortunatus Nwachukwu6 January 2013
Georg Gänswein6 January 2013
Nicolas Henry Marie Denis Thevenin6 January 2013
Other popes named Benedict
Papal styles of
Pope Benedict XVI
Coat of Arms of Benedictus XVI.svg
Reference styleHis Holiness
Spoken styleYour Holiness
Religious styleHoly Father


Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus XVI; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 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 as "Pope emeritus" upon his resignation, and he retained this title until his death in 2022.

Benedict XVI was elected Pope at the age of 78. He is the oldest person to have been elected Pope since Pope Clement XII (1730–40). He had served longer as a cardinal than any Pope since Benedict XIII (1724–30). He is the ninth German Pope, the eighth having been the Dutch-German Pope Adrian VI (1522–23) from Utrecht. The last Pope named Benedict was Benedict XV, an Italian who reigned from 1914 to 1922, during World War I (1914–18).

Born in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany, Ratzinger had a distinguished career as a university theologian before being appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI (1963–78). Shortly afterwards, he was made a cardinal in the consistory of June 27 1977. He was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II in 1981 and was also assigned the honorific title of the cardinal bishop of Velletri-Segni on April 5 1993. In 1998, he was elected sub-dean of the College of Cardinals. And on November 30 2002, he was elected dean, taking, as is customary, the title of Cardinal bishop of the suburbicarian diocese of Ostia. He was the first Dean of the College elected Pope since Paul IV (1555–59) and the first cardinal bishop elected Pope since Pius VIII (1829–30).

Even before becoming Pope, Ratzinger was one of the most influential men in the Roman Curia, and was a close associate of John Paul II. As Dean of the College of Cardinals, he presided over the funeral of John Paul II and over the Mass immediately preceding the 2005 conclave in which he was elected. During the service, he called on the assembled cardinals to hold fast to the doctrine of the faith. He was the public face of the church in the sede vacante period, although, technically, he ranked below the Camerlengo in administrative authority during that time. Like his predecessor, Benedict XVI affirms traditional Catholic doctrine.

In addition to his native German, Benedict XVI fluently speaks Italian, French, English, Spanish and Latin and also has a knowledge of Portuguese. He can read Ancient Greek and biblical Hebrew. He has stated that his first foreign language is French. He is a member of a large number of academies, such as the French Académie des sciences morales et politiques. He plays the piano and has a preference for Mozart and Bach.

On 11 February 2013, the Vatican confirmed that Benedict XVI would resign the papacy on 28 February 2013, as a result of his advanced age, becoming the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. The move was considered unexpected. In modern times, all popes have stayed in office until death. Benedict is the first pope to have resigned without external pressure since Celestine V in 1294.

In a statement, Benedict cited his deteriorating strength and the physical and mental demands of the papacy; addressing his Cardinals in Latin, Benedict gave a brief statement announcing his resignation. He also declared that he would continue to serve the church "through a life dedicated to prayer".

According to a statement from the Vatican, the timing of the resignation was not caused by any specific illness but was to "avoid that exhausting rush of Easter engagements".

On the appointed day and hour, and after two weeks of ceremonial farewells, the Pope left office and the time of sede vacante was declared.

Paul Collins suggested that the elevation of the Pope's personal assistant, Georg Gänswein, to archbishop in early December 2012 (he was ordained as bishop on 6 January 2013) was an indication of the impending resignation of Benedict XVI.

See also[]

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).
  1. Thomas P. Rausch, SJ (2015). . Paulist Press. “To a certain extent I am a Platonist. I think that a kind of memory, of recollection of God, is, as it were, etched in man, though it needs to be awakened.”
  2. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Pope Benedict XVI (12 March 2008), Boethius and Cassiodorus, archived from the original on 28 December 2008, retrieved 4 November 2009
  3. Udienza Generale del 18 aprile 2007: Clemente Alessandrino | Benedetto XVI.
  4. General Audience of 14 May 2008: Pseudo-Dionysius, the Areopagite | BENEDICT XVI.
  5. General Audience, 23 August 2006: John, "the Seer of Patmos" | BENEDICT XVI.
  6. General Audience of 4 May 2011: Man in Prayer (1) | BENEDICT XVI.
  7. BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE Saint Teresa of Avila 2 February 2011
  8. Pope Benedict XVI 2007, pp. 24–27.
  9. Vladimir Soloviev, the Mystic Admired by Popes.
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