Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger, r. 2005–2013) was a leading Catholic theologian who became the first pope in almost 600 years to resign, citing declining strength — a decision that briefly left the Church with two living popes at once.
BornJoseph Aloisius Ratzinger, Marktl am Inn, Germany, 1927
Reign2005–2013
Resigned28 February 2013 — first papal resignation since 1294
Died31 December 2022
Known asOne of the Church's leading theologians
He'd spent decades as the Vatican's chief doctrinal enforcer. Then he did something no pope had done in six centuries: he quit.
The theologian's pope
Before his election in April 2005, Joseph Ratzinger had led the Vatican's doctrinal office for over two decades under John Paul II, making him one of the most influential theological voices in the modern Church.
A resignation with no modern precedent
On 28 February 2013, citing a decline in “strength of mind and body,” he became the first pope to resign since Celestine V in 1294 — a decision that stunned the Church and briefly left two living popes: himself, as “pope emeritus,” and his successor.
Life after the papacy
He spent his remaining years living quietly within Vatican grounds, largely out of public life, until his death on 31 December 2022 at age 95.
