If you meet the Pope
- you can address him as "Your Holiness"...
- ...or "Holy Father"
Pope Benedict XVI was...
- Elected Pope at the age of 78
- Proclaimed cardinal on 27 June 1977 by Pope Paul VI
- Ordained a priest on 29 June 1951
- The youngest of three children, and his brother is also a priest
- Born on 16 April, Holy Saturday, in 1927 at 8:30am in Bavaria, Germany. He was baptized the same day
Did you know?
Pope Benedict XVI chose the name Benedict after Saint Benedict of Norcia, Patron Saint of Italy, who founded the monastic Rule in the sixth century.
Pope Benedict XVI has written three encyclicals
- Deus Caritas Est (25 December 2005)
- Spe Salvi (30 November 2007)
- Caritas in Veritate (29 June 2009)
Along with his native German, Pope Benedict XVI speaks fluent Italian, French, English, Spanish and Latin. He can read ancient Greek and biblical Hebrew
Pope Benedict XVI’s famous red shoes are made from calf or kid leather for the winter and from nappa leather for the summer
Pope Benedict XVI is...
The 265th Pope
The youngest of three children, and his brother is also a priest
The 54th non-Italian Pope
The eighth German Pope in history
The oldest person to have been elected pope since Clement XII in 1730
Plays the piano and has a preference for Mozart and Beethoven
The first Pope to own an iPod