Pope Benedict XVI is the leader of the Catholic Church. He is widely respected.
Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn, Germany, April 16, 1927. He was the Archbishop of Munich, he was for many years prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, served for 20 years as John Paul II's chief theological adviser.The dean of the College of Cardinals since November 2002, he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Paul VI in June 1977. He was elevated to Pope April 19, 2005.
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He choose the name Pope Benedict XVI and calls himself a "simple, humble worker," according to Fox News.
Pope Benedict XVI is the first German Pope since the 11th century. Pope Benedict XVI is the 265 Successor of Peter and the Bishop of Rome. He worked as the archbishop of Munich and for many years prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. He holds true to Catholic doctorine. He was elected by only four votes.
Pope Benedict XVI is 78 years old. He is known for being one of the top theologians in the Vatican. For the past twenty years, he was Pope John Paul II's chief theological adviser. When he was younger, he was more on the liberal side, but after the 1968 student revolutions, he became conservative. He has been a leading person to keep traditional values in the Catholic Church.
He entered a seminary in 1939, but had to delay it due to the World War II. In 1945, he re-entered with his brother, Georg. He went to an institute for theology called Herzogliches Georgianum. Josef and Georg were ordained priests on June 29, 1951. He received his doctorine in theology in July 1957.
