Joseph Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927, in rural Bavaria. He was ordained to the priesthood alongside his brother Georg in 1951 by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber, for the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Fr. Ratzinger taught theology at various German universities, and attended Vatican II as a theological advisor to Cardinal Josef Frings, Archbishop of Cologne. During his academic career, he became a prominent voice in the Nouvelle Theologie, a movement emphasizing the Scriptural and Patristic sources of Catholic Theology.

In 1977, he traded the professor's chair for the cathedra, as Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Munich and Freising and made a cardinal. Only four years later, Pope John Paul II appointed him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a post he held until his election to the papacy on April 19, 2005.

He chose the name Benedict in tribute to two great leaders who heroically shone the light of faith in a troubled world: St. Benedict of Nursia, who founded western monasticism amidst the ruins of European decline, and Pope Benedict XV, who called for peace amidst the horrors of World War I.

In the See of St. Peter, Benedict XVI's message found a wider audience. He spoke and wrote with sharp clarity on the dangers of relativism, materialism, consumerism, and greed. He made compellingly clear arguments for the mutuality of faith and reason, the importance of organic reform over strict continuity or rupture with the past, and the need for global financial regulation. His favourite topic, by way of returning to the sources of theology, was Jesus Christ. During his pontificate, he wrote and published Jesus of Nazareth, a highly accessible three-volume work on the life of Christ.

Benedict XVI complimented this towering intellectual contribution with a profoundly relatable touch, following the example of his great friend and predecessor John Paul II, who he beatified in 2011. Like John Paul II, Benedict XVI served as an open and accessible pope who made frequent public appearances and travelled the world to encounter his flock.

On February 11, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI reformed the Papacy with the stroke of a pen. He stunned the world by announcing his resignation, the first pope to willfully step down in over seven centuries. It was an act of humility that would reverberate into the deeply pastoral pontificate of his successor, Pope Francis.

Styled “Pope Emeritus,” he resided at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens. He continued to demonstrate the path of simple humility by serving his final years in quiet prayer and contemplation. On December 31, 2022, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died at Mater Ecclesiae at the age of 95.