10 Interesting Pope Benedict Facts

Pope Benedict Facts describe the life of the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. He was born on 16 April 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Germany under the birth name Joseph Ratzinger. If you want to know more about him, check out the following post below:

Pope Benedict Facts 1: parents

Pope Benedict was the son of Maria Ratzinger. His father was a police officer. His name was Joseph Ratzinger. Talking about his early education, the pope got his doctorate in theology from university of Munich in 1953.

Pope Benedict Facts 2: a priest

Pope Benedict was ordained as a priest on 29 June 1951. In 1959 until 1969, he taught theology at some colleges in Germany. He was appointed as a professor and vice president at University of Regensburg in Germany.

Pope Benedict Facts

Pope Benedict Facts 3: Archbishop

Pope Benedict was called as the Archbishop of Munich and Freishing on March 1977. On 28 May 1977, he was consecrated.

Pope Benedict Facts 4: Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI appointed him as the cardinal on 27 June 1977. He was elected as the vice dean of the College of Cardinals on 6 November 1998. Then he took the position of the dean of College of Cardinals on 30 November 2002.

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Pope Benedict Facts 5: becoming a pope

He became the 265th pope after he was elected on 19 April 2005.  The Pope visited a synagogue in Cologne, Germany and spoke there on 19 August 2005. He was called as the second pope in the history who did it. Check out another pope in facts about Pope Francis here.

Pope Benedict Facts 6: The first encyclical

The first encyclical that he created was issued on 25 January 2006.   His writing focused more on politics, charity, eros and love.

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Pope Benedict Facts 7: traveling

When he became a pope, he traveled to Poland. It was the homeland of the late Pope John Paul II. He went to the birth place of John Paul in Wadowice.   He also visited Krakow and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Pope Benedict Facts 8: offense

Pope raised a controversy after his speech in Bavaria, Germany when he included quotes of 14th-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus.  He talked about Prophet Mohammed and Islam. To end the protest from the Muslims, he apologized.

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Pope Benedict Facts 9: Twitter

The pope had a twitter account on 3 December 2012.  In minutes, there were thousand followers on his twitter.

Pope Benedict Facts 10: retirement

Pope Benedict decided to retire from his position due to his advanced age as the reason. He announced his retirement on 3 December 2012.

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