Faith has always played an important role in the life of Joseph Alois Ratzinger. He was born in Marktl am Inn on April 16, 1927 and grew up in a family that was deeply rooted in the Catholic faith.
He and his brother Georg both pursued a career in the church. Joseph Ratzinger was ordained a priest in 1951. At the age of 31 he was already teaching and researching as a professor of theology. While he was still considered a reformer when he was young, he later shaped the church as a conservative.
Pope Benedict XVI was a close confidant of John Paul II.
Ratzinger was an influential advisor to his predecessor John Paul II for almost a quarter of a century until his death. Even during John Paul II’s lifetime, the aging Ratzinger had repeatedly asked for his release from office in the Vatican. He wanted to spend the rest of his life in his home country. His predecessor always refused.
In Germany, Joseph Ratzinger, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, repeatedly attracted criticism and was sometimes derided as “God’s Rottweiler”. When Ratzinger was elected the first German Pope in almost 500 years on April 19, 2005, the “Bild” newspaper rejoiced: “We are Pope!”. The head of the church was also cheered on his first visit to Germany. At the World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005, the Pope was a star.
But the former enthusiasm for the German Pope evaporated very quickly. His traditional Catholicism was not difficult to reconcile with the modern world.
Sexual abuse scandal overshadows pontificate
Ratzinger was considered a brilliant theologian, but his pontificate was overshadowed by power struggles within the church and the abuse scandal. The German was the first pope to apologize for the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy and to meet with victims.
But he acted too hesitantly for many. His opponents have criticized him for failing to end the church’s cover-up of abuse scandals.
Resigned from the papacy in 2013
With his resignation from the office of Pope, Joseph Ratzinger took a historic step. He was the first modern head of the Catholic Church not to die in office. After his resignation, he lived a secluded life in the Vatican.
Pope Benedict XVI died on Saturday morning. at the age of 95 in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican.