Pope Benedict XVI (
Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI;
Italian: Benedetto XVI, born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on
16 April 1927) is the 265th and reigning
Pope, the spiritual head of the
Catholic Church, and as such,
Sovereign of the
Vatican City State. He was elected on
19 April 2005 in a
papal conclave, celebrated his
Papal Inauguration Mass on
24 April,
2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the
Basilica of St. John Lateran, on
7 May 2005. Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican
citizenship. He succeeded
Pope John Paul II, who died on
2 April 2005 (and with whom he had worked before the
interregnum). Benedict XVI is a well-known
Catholic theologian and a prolific author, a defender of traditional Catholic doctrine and values. He served as a
professor at and was a theological consultant at the
Second Vatican Council before becoming
Archbishop of Munich and Freising and
Cardinal. At the time of his election as Pope, Benedict had been
Prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (
curial heads lose their positions upon the death of a pope) and was
Dean of the College of Cardinals.
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