Investigation of child abuse puts Benedict XVI in trouble 1:35
(CNN) --
Here's a look at the life of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Date of birth:
April 16, 1927
Place of birth:
Marktl am Inn, Germany
Birth name:
Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger
Father:
Joseph Ratzinger, policeman
Mother:
Maria Ratzinger
Education:
University of Munich, Ph.D.
Theology, 1953
Religion:
Roman Catholic
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is "very ill," says Pope Francis
He was the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.
He served as the chief theological adviser to Pope John Paul II.
As dean of the College of Cardinals, it was his duty to call the cardinals to Rome for the conclave after the death of Pope John Paul II.
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He is an accomplished pianist and has a fondness for Mozart.
Chronology: the life of Benedict XVI
1945 -
During World War II, he leaves the German army and is taken prisoner by the American army.
June 29, 1951 -
He is ordained a priest.
1959-1969 -
Teaches theology at various colleges in Germany.
1969 -
Vice President and Professor of Theology at the University of Regensburg in Germany.
March 1977 -
He is named Archbishop of Munich and Freising and is consecrated on May 28, 1977.
June 27, 1977 -
He is named cardinal by Pope Paul VI.
November 25, 1981 -
He is named Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;
President of the Biblical Commission and of the Pontifical International Theological Commission.
November 6, 1998 -
He is elected vice-dean of the College of Cardinals.
November 30, 2002 -
He is named dean of the College of Cardinals.
April 19, 2005 -
He is elected pope number 265 by 115 cardinals.
April 24, 2005 -
Its inaugural mass is held.
August 19, 2005 -
Becomes the second pope in history to visit a synagogue when he speaks at the Roonstrasse Synagogue in Cologne, Germany.
January 25, 2006 -
He issues his first encyclical, focusing on the themes of love, eros, charity and politics.
March 24, 2006 -
Holds his first consistory and formally elevates 15 men to the level of cardinal.
The next day, a ceremony is held in St. Peter's Square in which the pope presents each of the new cardinals with a gold ring as a symbol of his fidelity to the Church.
May 25, 2006 -
Travels to Poland to pay homage to the late Pope John Paul II.
Visit the birthplace of John Paul II in Wadowice and travel to Krakow, the city where John Paul II lived before assuming the papacy in 1978. Benedict XVI also visits the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
September 12-20, 2006 -
Delivers a speech in Bavaria, Germany, including quotes from the 14th-century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
The speech sparked protests from Muslims around the world and led to the withdrawal of the Moroccan envoy to the Vatican.
The dad apologizes.
November 28, 2006 -
Arrives in Turkey for his first visit as pope.
May 9, 2007 -
Arrives in Brazil for a six-day tour, his first as pope.
June 9, 2007 -
Meets with US President George W. Bush at the Vatican, the first meeting between the two.
His discussions include Iraq, Muslim relations and AIDS.
September 7-9, 2007 -
The Pope travels to Austria for the 850th anniversary of the Mariazell sanctuary.
October 28, 2007 -
The pope beatifies 498 victims of the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. It is the largest mass beatification in history.
November 24, 2007 -
Elevates 23 high-ranking clerics to the office of cardinal.
April 15-20, 2008 -
Visits the United States for the first time as pope.
April 17, 2008 -
Celebrates a mass at Nationals Park in Washington, DC, with an estimated 46,000 people in attendance.
Later that day, he meets with Bernie McDaid, Olan Horne, and Faith Johnston, three victims of clerical sexual abuse.
April 18, 2008 -
Delivers an address to the United Nations General Assembly.
April 19, 2008 -
He celebrates Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.
April 20, 2008 -
Prays at ground zero in lower Manhattan before leading a mass at Yankee Stadium in front of 60,000 people.
October 12, 2008 -
Canonizes four new saints, including Mother Teresa.
February 12, 2009 -
Makes a statement denouncing anti-Semitism one month after a scandal involving a bishop who denied the death toll of Jews killed in concentration camps during World War II.
March 17-23, 2009 -
Takes his first trip to Africa as pope, travels to Cameroon and Angola, and reaffirms the Catholic Church's ban on condom use.
April 26, 2009 -
Names five new saints: Rev. Arcangelo Tadini, Nuno Alvares Pereira, Bernardo Tolomei, Gertrude Comensoli and Caterina Volpicelli.
May 8-15, 2009 -
Takes first trip to the Middle East, stopping in Jordan and Israel to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
July 17, 2009 -
Undergoes surgery after breaking his wrist in a fall.
August 3, 2009 -
The pope signs a record deal with Geffen Records to record his songs and prayers to the Virgin Mary.
November 23, 2009 -
The pope's album "Alma Mater" is released.
June 11, 2010 -
During a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, the pope apologizes for sexual abuse within the church and vows to do more to stop future incidents.
July 15, 2010 -
The Vatican announces the tightening of its laws on priests involved in sexual abuse.
September 16-19, 2010 -
The pope travels to England and Scotland, the first state visit to the UK by a pope.
Pope John Paul II made a pastoral visit in 1982.
September 16, 2010 -
The pope makes a statement that the Roman Catholic Church has not been vigilant or quick enough to respond to the problem of sexual abuse by priests.
June 28, 2011 -
The pope sends his first tweet, via the Vatican's Twitter account, to announce the launch of the new Vatican website.
The tweet is prepared in advance for the pope, but he hits the send button.
March 26-28, 2012 -
Pope's visit to Cuba.
He celebrates mass in the Plaza de la Revolución and meets with the former leader of the country, Fidel Castro.
May 26, 2012 -
The Vatican announces that Benedict XVI's butler, Paolo Gabriele, has been arrested for illegal possession of confidential documents.
It is suspected that he leaked documents to journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi.
October 6, 2012 -
Gabriele is convicted of aggravated robbery for leaking confidential papal documents and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Oct. 21, 2012 -
Names seven new saints, two of them American: 17th-century Mohawk Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American, and Marianne Cope, a nun who dedicated 30 years of her life to helping lepers in Hawaii.
The other five new saints are 19th-century French Jesuit Jacques Berthieu, Pedro Calungsod of the Philippines, Giovanni Battista Piamarta, María Carmen Salles y Barangueras, and Anna Schaffer.
November 21, 2012 -
The pope's book "Jesus of Nazareth: Childhood Narratives" is published.
In the book, the pope claims that the Christian calendar is based on an error by a sixth-century monk, who miscalculated the birth date of Jesus by several years.
December 3, 2012 -
The pope's Twitter account goes live in seven languages and has thousands of followers in a matter of minutes.
Pope Benedict XVI speaks out in defense of celibacy
February 11, 2013 -
Benedict announces that he will retire effective February 28.
He cites his "old age" as the reason.
February 28, 2013 -
Benedict leaves the Vatican by helicopter for the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo.
He is expected to remain there while the next pope is chosen.
Benedict will then return to the Vatican to live in the house of a former gardener.
He makes his last statements from the balcony of Castel Gandolfo, saying: "I am simply a pilgrim who begins the last stage of his pilgrimage on this earth."
May 2, 2013 -
Returns to live in the Vatican with Pope Francis.
February 22, 2014 -
Benedict makes a surprise appearance at St. Peter's Basilica as Pope Francis creates 19 new cardinals.
April 27, 2014 -
Attends as a guest the canonization ceremony of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II.
November 2016 -
Benedict XVI's book "Last Testament: In His Own Words" is published, co-written by Peter Seewald.
April 10, 2019 -
Discusses the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and claims it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalization of the church's moral teachings.
In an 11-page essay published in a German magazine for priests, Klerusblatt, the pope emeritus admits that the Vatican was initially overwhelmed in dealing with the crisis.
Pope Benedict XVI disagrees with Pope Francis on celibacy
January 14, 2020 -
Georg Gaenswein, Benedict XVI's personal secretary, releases a statement saying the pope emeritus has requested to be removed as co-author of a forthcoming book on priestly celibacy, titled "From the Depths of Our Hearts." .
A section of the book contains writings by Benedict, but he "had not approved any project for a co-signed book, nor had he seen or authorized the cover."
August 3, 2020 -
The Vatican says Benedict is recovering from a "painful but not serious condition", following reports in a German newspaper that he was very ill with shingles.
January 20, 2022 -
An investigation finds that Benedict knew about priests who abused children but failed to act when he was Archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.
February 8, 2022 -
In a letter issued by the Vatican, Benedict XVI apologizes for his handling of cases of sexual abuse by priests during his tenure as archbishop.
Benedict XVI
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