Benedict XVI, the pope who shocked the world by resigning as head of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013, has died at the age of 95. On Saturday, the Vatican announced his death.
Benedict’s health had been deteriorating, and his successor, Pope Francis, announced on Wednesday that Benedict was “very sick” and asked the faithful to pray for him.
Nothing defined Benedict XVI’s pontificate more clearly than its conclusion, and his majestic farewell flight over Rome. He was the first pope in over 700 years to resign voluntarily.
Benedict stated that his mental and physical strength had deteriorated “to the point where I have had to acknowledge my inability to fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”
Pope Benedict XVI, a naturally shy man, has always stated that he has no desire to lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. However, he was chosen in 2005 to succeed Pope John Paul II, becoming the oldest pope in nearly 30 years at the age of 78.
“I begged God not to do this to me,” he later said. “But clearly, he didn’t listen this time.”
In 1927, Joseph Ratzinger was born in a small town in Germany. He was forced to join the Hitler Youth at the age of 14 and was conscripted into a German army anti-aircraft unit in 1943. He deserted and was captured by the Americans.
After the war, he entered the priesthood and rose to the rank of cardinal. As the powerful head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he earned the moniker “God’s Rottweiler” for his strict enforcement of church policy. Ratzinger worked hard to change this image, according to his biographer John Allen.
“He was perceived as harsh, authoritarian, and controlling… and it was important to him, right from the start, to revise that… public image, and I think he did so quite successfully,” Allen said.
He accomplished this by being who he truly was: a teacher who spoke clearly and without excessive theological jargon.
Although Benedict’s weekly audiences at the Vatican drew large crowds, his efforts at inter-religious dialogue occasionally fell short.
He offended many Jews by reinstating a bishop who denied the scope of the Holocaust and then refused to apologize during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
“They were murdered. They will, however, never forget their names “He stated.
During a trip to Africa, he dismissed condoms as a method of AIDS prevention. He condemned gay marriage as a threat to humanity and insisted on doctrines such as no female priests. Benedict announced his decision to step down in a speech to the cardinals after eight years at the top of the Church hierarchy.
Pope Francis succeeded him, and Benedict took the title of Pope Emeritus and retired to a monastery in Vatican City.
During his pontificate, he was responsible for some of the changes that Francis would later be credited with. He began the Vatican’s financial reform. He was also the first pope to meet with victims of sex abuse and publicly apologize for what he called “filth” in the church.
In 2016, Francis honored Benedict on the 65th anniversary of his ordination with a ceremony at the Vatican, commemorating his decades of service to the church. He made fewer public appearances as he aged, though he was seen celebrating his 90th birthday with a group from his native Bavaria, mug in hand.
A frail Benedict would leave Italy only once during his retirement, to visit his elder brother, also a priest, on his retirement.
Benedict, a scholar who had preferred to remain anonymous in academia, left an indelible mark on the church — and history — when he became the pope who decided it was time to step down.
