Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI, Latin Benedictus, original name Joseph Alois Ratzinger (born 16 April 1925, Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany), is the current leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected on 19 April 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II.

Before becoming Pope, Ratzinger had been an academic theologian, and was later Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

As Pope, he has been theologically conservative and traditionalist. He has authored three Papal encyclicals so far: Deus Caritas Est ("God Is Love", a 2005 treatise on Christian love), Spe Salvi ("In Hope We Are Saved"; in 2007, on Christian hope) and Caritas in Veritate ("Charity in Truth"; in 2009, "On Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth").

Benedict XVI has visited the United States, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Brazil, Poland, Spain, Germany, Austria, France, Malta, Turkey, Cameroon, Angola and the United Kingdom.

On 11 February 2013 he announced he would resign at the end of the month as advancing ages had deprived him of strength to carry on. He later announced that he would retain his title as emeritus.