A life in pictures: Pope Benedict XVI
A selection of images from the life of the 265th Pope Joseph Ratzinger
A life in pictures: Pope Benedict XVI
Show all 39Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
Born in Bavaria, Germany on 16 April 1927, Joseph Ratzinger was the second son and youngest child of a policeman father. He was conscripted into the Hitler youth with the majority of his peers aged 14 and experienced first-hand the Nazis' hostility towards Catholicism when he saw the Parish priest being beaten before mass. Ratzinger went on to study philosophy and theology and became a professor at the University of Freising.
Given his upbringing, Ratzinger seemed an unlikely candidate for the role of the Pope. However, following the death of Pope John Paul II, the man who said he never wanted to be the head of the Catholic Church was appointed Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005. He was the oldest person to be elected Pope since Clement XII in 1730.
Click HERE to launch the gallery.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments