Joseph Alois Ratzinger

Last name: Ratzinger
Name names: Joseph, Alois
Also known as: Benedict XVI, Benedict XVI
Born: 16 April 1927 (Marktl am Inn, Germany).

Joseph Alois Ratzinger – ur. 16 April 1927 w Marktl am Inn (Bavaria, Germany); German theologian, cardinal, Pope Benedict XVI; father Joseph, mother Maria, sister Maria, brat Georg.

From 1941 year belonged to the Hitler Youth (it was obligatory then). At the age of 16 years began military preparation in the field of air defense. In November 1944 he was incorporated into the Wehrmacht. In year 1945 he was interned in a prisoner-of-war camp as a German soldier. Released in June.

He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Munich, w 1953 r. he defended his doctoral dissertation “God's people in the teachings of St.. Augustine about the Church”. W 1957 r. obtained his habilitation on the basis of the dissertation “The theology of history in St.. Bonaventure”.

29 June 1951 year he was ordained a priest. In the following years he was an assistant to the bishop of Freising (1957-1959) and then he was a professor in Bonn (1959-1969), Münster (1963-1966), Tübingen (1966-1969) and Regensburg (from 1969 year). In March 1977 In the year, Pope Paul VI nominated Ratzinger as Archbishop of Munich and Freising, and in June of the same year he appointed a cardinal.

25 November 1981 He was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by the pope John Paul II. W 2002 r. he was elected dean of the College of Cardinals (from 1998 he held the office of deputy dean). At this office, J.. Ratzinger, called “armored cardinal” he acted against popular in Latin America “liberation theology”, which tried to combine elements of the Gospel with Marxism, he announced a sharp condemnation of gay marriage and rebuked it “radical feminism” as an ideology, which undermines the family and blurs the natural differences between men and women. He named the abortion laws of the Western countries “a culture of death”. In years 90. he spoke out against theologians, mainly in Asia, who saw in non-Christian religions part of God's plan for the salvation of mankind. In his opinion, only the Catholic Church was the right path to full salvation.

8 April 2005 In the year, Cardinal Ratzinger celebrated the Holy Mass during the funeral of John Paul II.

19 April 2005 on the second day of the conclave by the fourth vote, receiving 84 that 115 votes, was elected the next pope. He took the name Benedict XVI.

In days 25-28 May 2006 Pope Benedict XVI made a pilgrimage to Poland (and also 9 visit in Poland). He visited Warsaw, Cracow, Wadowice, Auschwitz, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and Częstochowa.

28 February 2013 he completed his pontificate, becoming a retired pope. He was the first pope to resign since Gregory the twelfth century 1415 r.