Joseph Ratzinger, also known as Pope Benedict XVI, was born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Germany.

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His father was a police officer and his family was from Lower Bavaria.

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He received a Catholic, human, and cultural education in Traunstein, a small town on the Austrian border.

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During World War II, Ratzinger was enrolled in the auxiliary anti-aircraft service.

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From 1946 to 1951, he studied philosophy and theology at the University of Munich and at the higher school in Freising.

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He was ordained as a priest in 1951 and received his doctorate in theology in 1953.

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From 1969 to 1977, Ratzinger was a professor of dogmatic theology and the history of dogma at the University of Regensburg.

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He served as a chief theological advisor at the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965.

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In 1977, Pope Paul VI appointed Ratzinger as Archbishop of Munich and Freising.

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Ratzinger was elected Pope on April 19, 2005, becoming the first Pope to be elected from the Society of Jesus and the first Pope to be elected from Germany in over 1000 years.

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Pope Benedict XVI resigned from the papacy on February 28, 2013, becoming the first Pope to do so since Gregory XII in 1415.

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He was created a Cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1977 and served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, President of the Biblical Commission, and President of the Pontifical International Theological Commission under Pope John Paul II.

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He has written numerous books, including Jesus of Nazareth, The Spirit of the Liturgy, and A Christian Reflection on the New Age.

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Pope Benedict XVI is known for his love of music, particularly classical

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pope Benedict XVI dies aged 95 on 31st December 2022

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