Benedict XVI (b. 1927)

Benedict XVI is the 265th Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church; he was elected on April 19, 2005, and celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass [Page 134]on April 24. Born Joseph Alois Ratzinger, he succeeded the 27-year reign of Pope John Paul II, a longtime friend since the two met as young bishops during the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Under John Paul II, Ratzinger worked as the prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF), which also made him the president of the International Theological Commission and the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Before his appointment to the CDF in 1981, Ratzinger divided his time between clerical and academic responsibilities in Germany, particularly distinguishing himself as an internationally renowned scholar. Even secular institutions have recognized his intellectual contributions—for example, the prestigious Académie Française, to which he was appointed an associate member in the section for moral and political sciences in 1992. As a result of his distinguished academic career, Benedict has been recognized as one of the intellectual popes of the Church.

Born on April 16, 1927, in the village of Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany, Joseph Ratzinger was the youngest child of Joseph Ratzinger Sr. and Maria (Peintner) Ratzinger, a pious Roman Catholic family. He had an older brother, Georg, and a sister, Maria. Interested in becoming a priest since the age of 5, Ratzinger entered a seminary in Traunstein in 1939. Two years later, at 14 years of age, he was coerced to join the Hitler Youth (by German law), but he refused to attend the meetings. The Ratzinger family expressed anti-Nazi sentiments, which resulted in frequent demotions and transfers for Joseph Sr., who served in the Bavarian State Police and the German national Regular Police.

Ratzinger reentered the seminary at Freising and continued his studies at the Herzogliches Georgianum of the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. After his ordination in 1951, he pursued a doctorate in theology. Intellectually and spiritually, Ratzinger was highly influenced by his favorite Church Father, St. Augustine, on whom he wrote his doctoral thesis. Throughout his career as a professor, he has held positions at numerous German institutions, including Freising College, University of Bonn, University of Munster, University of Tubingen, and University of Regensburg in Bavaria, where he was also appointed dean and eventually vice president. He served at Vatican II as the chief theological advisor to Cardinal Josef Frings of Cologne, being present at all four sessions of the council. In 1977, Ratzinger was elected Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Four years later, he moved to Rome for his appointment at the CDF. In 2002, Ratzinger was appointed as the dean of the College of Cardinals by John Paul II, who Ratzinger would succeed as pope in 3 more years. After his election to the papacy in 2005, Ratzinger chose the name Benedict in honor of two role models: Pope Benedict XV, who reigned as pontiff during World War I, attempting to pursue peace among the warring nations, and the medieval saint Benedict of Nursia, the founder of Western monasticism.

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