Benedict XVI

Also known as Pope Benedict XVI, Josef Ratzinger, Benedetto XVI, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Joseph Alois Ratzinger, Pope Benedictus XVI, Benedictus XVI

265 th pope of the Catholic Church (2005–2013)

OverviewAI-generated

Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, also known as Benedictus or Josef, was a Latin Catholic priest, university teacher, philosopher, and archbishop. Born in Marktl in 1927, he served as Pope, Dean of the College of Cardinals, and cardinal priest before becoming Pope emeritus. He was educated at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the Ducal Georgianum, and held positions at the University of Tübingen, University of Bonn, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and University of Münster.

His notable works include Encyclical Letters, *Lord I Love You! Homilies Through the Liturgical Year : Volume 2*, and the *Roman Martyrology Published by Order of*. He received the Commander of the Legion of Honour, the Bavarian Order of Merit, the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art, and an honorary doctorate. He was a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Academy for Sciences and Arts, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, and the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. He spoke German, Latin, Italian, and French, and played the piano.

Synthesized by Vinony from 30 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Works: 1

Top works

Encyclical Letters
Lord I Love You! Homilies Through the Liturgical Year : Volume 2
Roman Martyrology Published by Order of
Lord, I Love You! Homilies Through the Liturgical Year

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Marktl, Weimar Republic [now Germany]

Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, German: [ˈjoːzɛf ʔaˈlɔʏzi̯ʊs ˈʁatsɪŋɐ]; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from April 19, 2005 until his resignation on February 28, 2013. Benedict's election as pope occurred in the 2005 papal conclave…

Known for

A Farewell to Francis — Self (archive footage)2025
The Accused: Damned or Devoted?2020
Francesco — Self2020
Benedicto XVI: el Papa Emérito — Himself2020
Drawn This Way — Self - Pope Emeritus (archive footage) (uncredited)2019
The Two Popes — Himself (archive footage)2019
Defender of the Faith — Self (archive footage)2019
Der Unbequeme - Joseph Ratzinger, der Glaube und die Welt von heute — Himself2017
Hostage to the Devil — Self (archive footage)2016
In Their Own Words — Self (archive footage)2015

via TMDB

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Josef
Family name: Ratzinger
Gender: male
Citizenship: Italy
Place of birth: Marktl
Place of death: Vatican City
Sibling: Georg Ratzinger
Occupation: theologian
Position held: cardinal
Educated at: Ducal Georgianum
Employer: University of Regensburg
Languages spoken: French
Native language: German
Religion: Catholicism
Participant in: August 1978 conclave
Academic degree: Doctor of Divinity
Doctoral advisor: Michael Schmaus
Instrument: piano
Conflict: World War II
Official website: www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en.html
Image: Papst Benedikt XVI in Berlin 2011.jpg
Motto: Cooperatores veritatis
Work location: Regensburg

Show 28 more facts

Residence: Mater Ecclesiae Monastery
Significant event: death and funeral of Benedict XVI
Commons category: Benedictus XVI
date of birth: 1927-04-16
topic's main category: Category:Pope Benedict XVI
Commons gallery: Benedictus XVI
described by source: Wikitólica
member of: Hitler Youth
birth name: Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger
date of baptism: 1927-04-16
topic has template: Template:Pope Benedict XVI
significant person: Georg Gänswein
writing language: German
relative: Georg Ratzinger
interested in: music
date of death: 2022-12-31
manner of death: natural causes
honorific prefix: His Holiness
date of burial or cremation: 2023-01-05
place of detention: Bad Aibling
ethnic group: Germans
last words: Signore, ti amo!
place of burial: Vatican Grotto
P10632: Benedict XVI
P8168: bit stuffing
name in native language: Benedictus PP. XVI
Stack Exchange tag: christianity.stackexchange.com/tags/benedict-xvi
maintained by WikiProject: WikiProject Musicians

Sources (15)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Orders Ordination29 June 1951 by Michael von Faulhaber Consecration28 May 1977 by Josef Stangl Created cardinal27 June 1977 by Paul VI Rank Cardinal priest (1977‍–‍1993)

Cardinal bishop (1993‍–‍2005)

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Benedict XVI” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.