Cardinal Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger took the name Benedict XVI when he was elected the 265th successor of St Peter on 19 April 2005.
The 265th pope of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church was an extraordinary intellectual. He has nine doctorates. He has written over 160 books. He spoke, wrote and read 10 languages fluently including French, English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and German as his native languages.
Benedict XVI considered the greatest theologian of the twentieth century and known as the Pope of faith and reason was appointed bishop and raised to the rank of archbishop on the same day. Three months later, he was created a cardinal. To date, he was the only cardinal to have participated in three conclaves, including August 1978, October 1978 and April 2005. Until December 31, 2022, he was the last living cardinal named by Paul VI, on June 27, 1977. He is also the only cardinal to have spent 24 years leading the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Benedict XVI dies on December 31, 2022. He is then 95 years and 259 days old. Which makes him the longest-lived pope, although he abdicated at the age of 85 years and 300 days.
