Date of Birth: April 16, 1927, in Germany
Ordained priest: June 29, 1951
Consecrated Abp of Munich and Freising: March 25, 1977
Episcopal Ordination: May 28, 1977
Created Cardinal: June 27, 1977
Elected Pope: April 19, 2005

Pope Benedict XVI - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - The newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, was one of the most powerful men in the Vatican under Pope John Paul II, a strict enforcer of church doctrine who earned the nickname "Cardinal No.". Pope Benedict XVI ( born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on 16 April 1927) is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship. Pope Benedict XVI, officially in Latin Benedictus PP. XVI, born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, was elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church on April 19, 2005. As such, he is Bishop of Rome, rules Vatican City and leads the Roman Catholic Church including the Eastern Rite Churches in communion with the Holy See.


Pope Benedict is the founder and patron of the Ratzinger Foundation, a charitable organisation, which makes money from the sale of his books and essays in order to fund scholarships and bursaries for students across the world