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Biography
Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger, was born and baptized on April 16, 1927(Holy Saturday) at Marktl am Inn in Passau, Germany. His father was a policeman and his mother was a homemaker. He spent his childhood and adolescent years in Traunstein, a small village near the Austrian border, thirty kilometres from Salzburg. There he received a Christian formation which prepared him for the rough years to come. He grew up during the Nazi regime witnessing the harsh persecution of the Catholic Church. During this period of his life, although it was difficult, the strong roots of his Catholic faith enabled him to further discover the beauty and reward in placing his complete faith and trust in God.
In 1946, he began studying Philosophy and Theology at the University of Munich and later was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1951. Between 1952 and 1972 he was a professor and the vice-president at the University of Freising. On March 25, 1977, Joseph Ratzinger was named archbishop of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI. In June of that same year he was also made a Cardinal. In 1978 he took part in the Conclave that elected John Paul I to the papacy. From 1986 to 1992 Cardinal Ratzinger aided in composing and presenting the new Catechism of the Catholic Church to the Holy Father. On April 19, 2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected to the papacy, taking on the name of Pope Benedict XVI. |
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