The life of German Pope Benedict XVI

"We are pope" Germany's leading tabloid Bild said on April 19, 2005 when the College of Cardinals elected 78-year-old Joseph Ratzinger to succeed John Paul II as the 265th pope. Taking the name Benedict XVI, he displayed humility while assuming the papal throne: "The cardinals have elected me, a modest laborer in the Lord's vineyard."

Born on April 16, 1927, Joseph Ratzinger (at left) grew up during World War II. Early in his life, Ratzinger decided to follow the path of the church, and even as a boy expressed his wish to become a cardinal.

During the war, Ratzinger was required to join the Hitler Youth at the age of 16. Ratzinger later said he left the group as soon as organizers stopped requiring him to attend. He is pictured here in 1943. In 1944, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht. At the end of the war he was briefly held as a prisoner of war by United States forces, but was released in June 1945.

Ratzinger studied theology, was ordained in 1952 and became a professor of theology at the University of Regensburg at the early age of 30. Ratzinger was initially seen as a progressive member of the church, but he reportedly became more conservative after the student protests of the late 1960s.

In 1981, just four years after he was made archbishop of Munich and Freising, Pope John Paul II brought Ratzinger (right) to Rome — appointing him prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, making him the most powerful enforcer of Catholic doctrine. That an academic with limited pastoral experience should rise so high in the church hierarchy was a bone of contention for critics.

Cardinal Ratzinger became increasingly conservative, something he had in common with John Paul II. Advice on the prohibition of abortion, and against contraception and Latin American liberation theology bore his hallmarks. He stayed true to his conservative path throughout his papacy.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI's lifting of the excommunications of four bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X, one of whom had denied the Holocaust, caused a global outcry. Poor personnel decisions, a lack of ecumenical progress — and above all, the sexual abuse of minors by the clergy, which was covered up for decades — all marred the pope's tenure.

Pope Benedict did try to address the issue of sexual abuse, including reaching out to victims. He described the abuse of minors by priests as a "scourge" that caused "great suffering." Although he did tighten restrictions for training priests, critics accused him of doing too little. Indeed, it was his successor who called the first major crisis meeting on the topic in the Vatican.

On his third visit to Germany in 2011, Benedict XVI was received by adoring crowds, such as here in Erfurt. But the pope also faced harsh criticism: He was accused of ignoring victims' associations in his deliberations and discussions. And his strict refusal to allow Holy Communion to couples of mixed denominations was seen as a rejection of ecumenical values.

At the Carnival parade in Mainz in 2007, Benedict XVI was depicted driving into a mosque in his "popemobile." The float was an allusion to a controversial statement by the pope, in which he quoted the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought "only evil and inhumanity" into the world. His choice of words caused a storm of controversy in the Muslim world.

Following his resignation in 2013, Benedict XVI pledged to obey his successor, Francis. Yet the pope emeritus did raise his voice again. In early 2020, he published a book in which he argued vehemently against changing the vow of priestly celibacy. Francis had refused to rule out consecrating married men as priests.

On January 24, 2022, the former pope apologized for providing false information during a probe into sexual abuse in his old Munich archdiocese. His statement read that this was not done "with ill intent," but was an "oversight." Benedict had told an inquiry he had not been present at a 1980 meeting to discuss the case of a pedophile priest who had been allowed to remain in office.