Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

Benedict XVI: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As Pope Emeritus • Joseph Alois Ratzinger
Born April 16, 1927 • Germany
Died December 31, 2022 (aged 95) • Vatican City
Title / Office pope (2005-2013)

Photos and Videos

Pope Benedict XVI, wearing white papal robes and a gold cross, raises his right hand in blessing while smiling at a crowd in Rome, Italy.
Pope Benedict XVI, wearing white papal robes and a cross necklace, raises his hand in blessing at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City, with a church facade behind him.
Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI embrace and smile at each other outdoors beside a white helicopter at Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Benedict XVI rides in the Popemobile, a white Mercedes with a glass enclosure, surrounded by security personnel on a blue track at Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Pope Benedict XVI, wearing white papal robes and a skullcap, raises his right hand in blessing while speaking into a microphone at a window of Castel Gandolfo.
Benedict XVI
Joseph Ratzinger's life before becoming Pope Benedict XVI
How Is a Pope Elected?
See All Videos and Images →
St. Gregory the Great
St. Gregory the Great
pope
Gregory IX consecrating the chapel of St. Gregory, detail of a fresco, 13th century; in the lower church of Sacro Speco, Subiaco, Italy
Gregory IX
pope
default image
Georg Hermes
German theologian
default image
Gregory V
pope
default image
Clement II
pope
default image
Victor II
pope
John Paul II
St. John Paul II
pope
St. Peter the Apostle
St. Peter the Apostle
Christian Apostle
Gregory VII excommunicating Henry IV
St. Gregory VII
pope
Pope Francis
Francis
pope
Portrait of Desiderius Erasmus, shown in dark robes and cap, writing with a quill at a desk, after Quinten Massijs, oil on panel, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Erasmus
Dutch humanist
Innocent III
Innocent III
pope
John XXIII
St. John XXIII
pope
Photograph of Pope Pius IX
Pius IX
pope
Pius XII
Pius XII
pope
Pope Leo XIV
Leo XIV
pope
Engraving by Lucas Vorsterman after Peter Paul Rubens showing St. Ignatius of Loyola with a halo, hands clasped in prayer before a crucifix and open book.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
Spanish saint
Boniface VIII
Boniface VIII
pope
Paul III
Paul III
pope
Leo X
Leo X
pope

Related Quizzes

Christ as Ruler, with the Apostles and Evangelists (represented by the beasts). The female figures are believed to be either Santa Pudenziana and Santa Praxedes or symbols of the Jewish and Gentile churches. Mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana, Rome,A
Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity
Holy week. Easter. Valladolid. Procession of Nazarenos carry a cross during the Semana Santa (Holy week before Easter) in Valladolid, Spain. Good Friday
Christianity Quiz