Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died this Saturday at the age of 95 in the Vatican's Mater Ecclesiae monastery, where he had resided since his historic resignation from the pontificate in 2013. His funeral will be on January 5 in Saint Peter's Square, according to the spokesman. of the Vatican, Matteo Bruni.
Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl, Bavaria, on April 16, 1927, and became Pope Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005. On February 28, 2013, he resigned after abdicating.
Before his pontificate Ratzinger had had an ecclesiastical career first as a theologian, then as bishop of Munich and later in the Roman curia where, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had been a close associate of John Paul II.
Joseph Ratzinger dressed as a German Air Force aide in 1943.German Catholic News Agency KNA via Getty Images
German priest Joseph Ratzinger praying during an outdoor mass near Ruhpolding, Germany, during the summer of 1952.AFP / AFP via Getty Images
Joseph Ratzinger, when he was a professor of dogmatic theology in Freising, Germany, in 1959.AFP via Getty Images
Joseph Ratzinger, in Munich, Germany, in an undated image. Bettmann / Bettmann Archive
Josef Ratzinger greets the faithful in May 1977 after being consecrated archbishop in the cathedral of Munich, Germany.ullstein bild / ullstein bild via Getty Images
Archbishop of Munich Joseph Ratzinger during an interview at his palace in Munich, Germany, in 1980.Ullstein bild via Getty Images
Pope John Paul II (left) and Archbishop of Munich Joseph Ratzinger in the Liebfrauendom cathedral in Munich on November 19, 1980.Picture Alliance via Getty Image
John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger in 1984.API / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in June 1990. Edoardo Fornaciari/Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI greets believers waiting for his arrival in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Munich, on September 10, 2006. Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI receives former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama in his private library in Vatican City, on July 10, 2009. Grzegorza Galazka / Mondadori Portfolio/Archivio Mar
Pope Francis meets with Benedict XVI to exchange Christmas greetings, at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in Vatican City, on December 23, 2013.MAURIX/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
