Today is the 84th birthday of Pope Benedict. In a few short days, he will be also celebrating the sixth anniversary of his election as pope.
He was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger April 16, 1927 at 8:30 in the morning in his parents’ home in Marktl, Bavaria. He is the ninth German pope, the last one prior being Pope Adrian VI in the 16th century. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1951 in Freising by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Munich. He became archbishop of Munich and Freising in 1977 and appointed cardinal by Pope Paul VI in June 1978. He became Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981 and remained there until until his election as pope in 2005, although he petitioned Pope John Paul II in 1997 to leave the Congregation and to become an archivist in the Vatican Secret Archives and a librarian in the Vatican Library. (The pope refused his request.)
He became pope on April 19, 2005 following the death of Pope John Paul II.
Since his election, he has published several books, written several encyclicals and traveled the world even into his ninth decade of life.
Happy Birthday, Holy Father!
