Benedict XVI
April 16, 1927 – December 31, 2022
German theologian who was pope from 2005 until 2013, when he became the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages.
Biography
Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria, was a German theologian and pope from 2005 to 2013. He was ordained in 1951, taught theology at several German universities and took part in the Second Vatican Council as an adviser.
He became Archbishop of Munich and a cardinal in 1977. From 1981 he led the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under John Paul II for almost 25 years, guarding Catholic doctrine.
Elected pope in 2005, he wrote encyclicals on love, hope and economic justice and faced the clergy sexual abuse crisis. In 2013 he became the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages, and lived as pope emeritus in the Vatican until his death in 2022.
