Birth Name:  Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger
Born: April 16, 1927 at Marktl (Bavaria), Germany
Elected: April 19, 2005, the 265th Roman Pontiff
Abdicated: February 28, 2013
Current Title: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Pontificate: Prolific theologian and former Head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Saint John Paul II;  Focused his evangelization and writings on "reforming the reform" of the Liturgy (which unfolded after the Second Vatican Council) as well as other streams of traditional and conservative thought;  Wrote three encyclials, one each concentrated on Faith, Hope, and Charity;  Questioned the fundamental goal of Islamization during Regensburg Address;  Removed unprescribed restrictions against celebrating the Pre-Paul VI Liturgy, aka, the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM); Sought rapprochement with Eastern Orthodoxy, but with little progress;  Became first pope to abdicate his office since Pope Celestine V in 1294;  
Motto:  Cooperatores veritatis  ('Cooperators of the truth')

 

Excerpts from Magisterial Teaching