Pope Benedict XVI

News coverage of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the head of the Catholic Church from 2005 until his resignation in 2013 and subsequent death.

Born April 16, 1927, in present-day Germany as Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, he died Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95 in Vatican City. He was elected pope in April 2005, after the death of Pope John Paul II. He resigned as pope in February 2013, the first pope to do so in centuries. After his resignation, he became known as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

During his time as pope, Benedict XVI used virtually every medium at his disposal — books and Twitter, sermons and encyclicals — to catechize the faithful on the foundational beliefs and practices of Christianity.