From 19 April 2005 till his resignation on February 28, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI—born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger; 16 April 1927–31 December 2022—served as the leader of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Vatican City State.

In the conclave that followed Pope John Paul II’s passing in 2005, Benedict was chosen to serve as pope. As soon as he resigned, Benedict decided to use the moniker “pope emeritus.”

He was ordained as a priest in 1951, and Pope Paul VI appointed him a cardinal in 1977. Between 1978 to the time of his election as pope in 1998, he served as dean of the College of Cardinals.

Initially a liberal theologian, he switched to conservatism in 1968. Another tradition that Benedict resurrected was the Tridentine Mass, which was given additional prominence.

Pope Benedict XVI made his resignation known on February 11, 2013. He blamed his advanced age as the cause of his “loss of power of mind and body.” He continued to wear white, the papal color, and maintain His Holiness’ personal style as pope emeritus.

In addition to his native German, Benedict had a working knowledge of the languages of French, Italian, English, and Spanish. He also had a working knowledge of Portuguese, Latin, Biblical Greek, and Hebrew.  The French Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques was one of the social science academies he belonged to. He played the piano, and his favorite composers were Bach and Mozart.

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Pope Benedict XVI family, husband,

Pope Benedict XVI has never been married.

Pope Benedict XVI children,

Pope Benedict XVI has never fathered any children of his own.

Pope Benedict XVI parents,

In his parents’ home in Marktl, Bavaria, Germany, at Schulstraße 11, at 8:30 on April 16, 1927—Holy Saturday—Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger was born. The same day, he underwent baptism. His grand-uncle was the German priest-politician Georg Ratzinger, and he was the third and youngest child of police officer Joseph Ratzinger Sr. and Maria Ratzinger.

Pope Benedict XVI siblings

Georg Ratzinger, Benedict’s older brother, was a Catholic priest and the previous conductor of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir. Maria Ratzinger, his sister, never got married and took care of her brother Joseph’s home until her passing in 1991.