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Pope Benedict XVI

Former Archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger

Holy Father, Pontiff, Bishop of Rome, Holy See

Summary

On April 18, 2005, at the age of 78, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. For the past 25 years, he served as dean of the College of Cardinals and prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

Born in Germany and raised in a devout Catholic home, young Joseph entered seminary early but was drafted into Hitler's army. Following the war, he continued his religious studies and became a priest.

He attended Vatican II as an advisor, has written several books and most recently served as dean of the College of Cardinals and prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. His conservative theologic views earned him a harsh reputation that will be watched closely as he leads the Catholic Church.

Formative Years

Family

Joseph was born in his parents home at at Schulstrasse 11, Marktl am Inn, Germany on April 16, 1927 to Maria (nee Peintner) and Joseph Ratzinger. His brother, Georg, and sister, Maria, were both older. Photos: family portrait (15k), birthplace (18k).

Strong anti-Nazi sentiment.

His father was a strong Catholic who opposed the Nazis. His father served in both the Bavarian State Police (Landespolizei) and the German national Regular Police (Ordnungspolizei) before retiring in 1937 to the town of Traunstein. The Sunday Times of London described the elder Ratzinger as "an anti-Nazi whose attempts to rein in Hitler's Sturmabteilung forced the family to move several times." These relocations were directly related to Joseph Ratzinger, Sr.'s continued resistance to Nazism, which resulted in demotions and transfers.

His mother was the daughter of artisans from Rimsting on the shore of Lake Chiem, South Tyrol (today part of Italy). Before marrying she worked as a cook in a number of hotels, other sources said she worked as a barmaid.

The Ratzinger family moved quite often while Joseph was a small child because of his father's job. At one point they lived in a farmhouse on the outskirts in Hufschlag, surrounded by lush grren fields and thick forests. The family eventually settled in Traunstein in 1937, when he was about 10. Traunstein is on the Austrian border, about thirty kilometres from Salzburg.

The family today.

Pope Benedict's brother, Georg, is still living. His sister, Maria Ratzinger, who never married, managed her brother Joseph's household until her death in 1991. Their grand uncle Georg Ratzinger was a priest and member of the Reichstag, as the German Parliament was called then.

The house Pope Benedict owns in Pentling, Germany, will be left to the Regensburg Diocese after his death, said Wolfgang Beinert, a retired professor of systematic theology and dogmatic history at Regensburg University. Beinert, a former student and assistant of the pope's, said he received the information directly from the pope's family. (Source: article 8/16/05 Catholic Online.)

Early Life

The pope's relatives agree that his ambitions to serve in the upper echelons of the Church were apparent since childhood. At age five, Ratzinger was in a group of children who presented the Archbishop of Munich with flowers; later that day he announced he wanted to be a cardinal. Photo: young Joseph (16k).

Frightening the neighbor kid

Franz-Xavier Zeiser, who is 9 yrs younger than pope, said he often would visit the family, since they were his closest neighbors. Joseph, then a teen, "had a giant teddy bear back then, and he often used it to scare me," recalled Zeiser.

"One day I had enough and decided to get my revenge" so he left a large hammer outside the Ratzinger house.

"When Joseph came at me with his teddy bear again, I raced outside and grabbed the hammer. Then we stood, grimly facing each other, me gripping the hammer and him his teddy bear. Eventually we both put down our 'weapons' and that was the end of that." (Source: article 8/2/05 Catholic Online.)

Hometown reaction.

Joseph used to pass St. Oswald Church in Traunstein on his way to high school each day. Later in life, after moving to Rome to work at the Vatican, he would stop here to pray during his visits home. Father Sebastian Heindl, the parish priest, said parishioners are still amazed that "one of us had become pope."

Education

Joseph entered seminary in 1939 and began study of classical languages as a 12-year-old, but was drafted at age 16.

In November, 1945, he returned and finished his undergraduate studies, and was ordained a priest at the philosophical-theological institute in Freising. He was known for playing Mozart on the seminary's grand piano.

Later, he would return and lecture at the institute, where his two dissertations and other writings are still on the shelves. This was located on the second floor of what is now the Friesing cathedral library, on Domberg 40.

He studied theology at the University of Munich, receiving his doctorate in 1953.

Nazi Germany

During his childhood, the Nazi regime pursued a hostile attitude towards the Catholic church. Joseph saw how some Nazis beat the Parish Priest before the celebration of Mass.

Hitler Youth

In 1943, the young Joseph Ratzinger was drafted into the Hitler Youth with many of his classmates. He reluctantly participated and would often miss meetings.

In 1943, when he was 16, Ratzinger was drafted with many of his classmates into the FlaK (anti-aircraft artillery corps). They guarded various facilities including a BMW aircraft engine plant north of Munich and, later, the jet fighter base at Gilching, where Ratzinger served in telephone communications.

After his class was released from the Corps in September 1944, Ratzinger was put to work setting up anti-tank defences in the Hungarian border area of Austria in preparation for the expected Red Army offensive.

Prisoner of War

As Allied forces got closer to his post, he deserted in April 1945 and returned home to Traunstein, just as American forces were setting up their headquarters in the Ratzinger home. Ratzinger was identified as a deserter of the Germany Army and placed in a prisoner-of-war camp near Ulm, released a few months later at the end of the war on June 19, 1945.

The family was reunited when his brother, Georg, returned after being repatriated from a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy.

He wrote that he escaped recruitment in the dreaded Nazi SS because he said he was a priest in training.

Desire for Peace

Pope Benedict XVI urged countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the Vatican to establish such ties, in a veiled reference to China, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, while urging the world to resist clashes among cultures.

Recalling his experience as a youth in Nazi Germany, he said, "I come from a country where peace and brotherhood are dear to the hearts of all the inhabitants, particularly those who, like me, have known the war and the separation among brothers belonging to the same nation because of devastating and inhuman ideological reasons. (Source: article 5/12/05 Catholic Online.)

His Work and Vocation

Becoming a Priest

Joseph returned to the seminary he had entered as a teen, before World War II interrupted his studies. Later, when he was 24-years-old, he and his brother, Georg, were ordained priests together on June 29, 1951, in the Cathedral of Freising on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Photo: ordination (12k).

Father Joseph Ratzinger elebrated his first Mass as a priest at St. Oswald Church in Traunstein. Photo: Ratzinger as a young priest celebrates mass in Ruhpolding, Germany in 1952 (20k).

Teaching

He began teaching theology in 1959 at the University of Bonn. In 1963 he moved to the University of Münster, where his inaugural lecture was given in a packed lecture hall, as he was already well known as a theologian.

In 1966, he took a chair in dogmatic theology at the University of Tübingen, where he was a colleague of Hans Küng. In 1969 he returned to Bavaria, as a professor at the University of Regensburg.

In March 1977, he was appointed Archbishop of Munich-Friesing by Pope Paul VI, and elevated to Cardinal three months later.

Expert at Vatican II

At 35, he was appointed chief theological advisor for the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joseph Frings, for the four-year duration of the Council from 1962-1965.

Move to Rome

Elected Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals, November 6, 1998. On November 30, 2002, the Holy Father approved the election, by the order of cardinal bishops, as Dean of the College of Cardinals.

Summoned to Vatican by the Pope to be Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger moved to Rome in 1981. The Prefect of the Congregation is also President of two important Commissions, the International Theological Commission and the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

Holy Inquisition

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was formerly known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition. As Prefect the sexual abuse of minors by priests was his responsibility to investigate from 2001, when that charge was given to the CDF by Pope John Paul.

Served as President of the Commission for the Preparation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church from 1986 to 1992, and after six years work presented the New Catechism to the Holy Father.

Achievements

Benedict speaks German, Italian and French fluently, and English, Spanish and Latin slightly less fluently. He can read ancient Greek and classical Hebrew.

Cardinal McCarrick called Pope Benedict "a brilliant theologian" who "as a young man was one of the great theologians of the Second Vatican Council." McCarrick also praised him as "a very important writer of spiritual books ...of very beautiful, thoughtful meditations." (Source: article 7/13/05 Catholic Online.)

Ready to Retire

In April 2005, before his election as pope, he was identified as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine. Ratzinger himself had repeatedly stated he would like to retire to a Bavarian village and dedicate himself to writing books, but more recently, he told friends he was ready to "accept any charge God placed on him."

Publications

Founded the theological journal Communio with Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, Walter Kasper and others. Communio, now published in seventeen editions (German, English, Spanish and many others), has become one of the most important journals of Catholic thought. He remains one of the journal's most prolific contributors.

Author of Several Books

He has published several best-selling books on faith, practice, and Catholic doctrine for today's Catholic and Christian including: The Ratzinger Report (1985); Salt of the Earth (1996); The Spirit of the Liturgy (2000); God and the World (2002), God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life (2003), Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions (2004), and Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith: The Church As Communion(2005).

In Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977 (1977) he wrote about his early life prior to his appointment as Archbishop of Munich. His current publisher, Ignatius Press offers additional information on his books, including excerpts.

Fatima Messages

Ratzinger has long been tied into the message of Our Lady of Fatima to three young Portuguese children. Notably, until her death, Lúcia dos Santos was under orders from the Vatican not to discuss the Fatima revelations publicly unless given leave by Cardinal Ratzinger, one of seven people known to have read the actual Third Message put into writing in 1944, and author of the Theological Commentary on the Third Message, one of four canon sourceworks kept alongside the Message.

People in His Life

Father Georg Ratzinger

One person convinced that Ratzinger would not be the new pope was his brother, Georg, who told a German newspaper in early April that he "has not got a chance". "I cannot imagine that a German would be elected pope," Georg Ratzinger told the Abendzeitung newspaper.

When 78-year-old Joseph Ratzinger became pope on April 19, it was his brother Georg, also a priest and a former choir director at the cathedral in Ratisbonne in the family's native Bavaria, who expressed concerns about his health.

Father Georg, 81, said "Joseph's health is not very robust and his heart isn't in particularly good condition either." At around the same time, Georg had a pacemaker installed at a Rome hospital, where the new Pope visited with him for 30 minutes on his inauguration day.

Ingrid Stampa

There is a woman who has probably the closest personal link to the new pontiff and her name is Ingrid Stampa. A 55-year-old professor of the viola da garriba, an ancient musical instrument similar to modern cellos, she has been the Pope's housekeeper for the past 14 years. Slim, dark-haired, bespectacled and always dressed in somber clothing, she belongs to a secular Catholic order called the Schoenstatt Sisters. Born in Kleve, western Germany, she studied medieval music in Basel, Switzerland, and later taught there and in Hamburg, northern Germany, until the late 1980s.

Stampa entered his service in the Vatican in 1991, replacing a nun who had died, and has lived in his apartment a short walk from the Vatican ever since. His elevation to the papacy left her stunned. That evening, Ratzinger came up to her before dining with the rest of the cardinals. As she bent down to kiss his hand he stopped her, saying, "God wanted it this way. Let us both follow the will of God."

She describes the new Pope as a modest man of simple tastes. He rarely drinks wine as it gives him a headache. He likes Italian cuisine but prefers German food, such as dumplings and apple strudel. Ingrid does not just run his household. Her name appears on many of the books written by John Paul II, which she translated into German, including his last work "Memory and Identity."

Thaddeus Joseph Kuehnel

Thaddeus Joseph Kuehnel, the director of Hauck and Aufhaeuser private bankers in Munich, met Cardinal Ratzinger in 1978 when Kuehnel visited Bad Adelholzen, a small Bavarian town where Ratzinger was vacationing with his brother, Father Georg Ratzinger, and his sister, Maria. Seated at a table near the siblings, Kuehnel was touched by the cardinal's "genuine depth of faith" while praying before lunch.

Friends for the past 27 years, they stayed in touch through a mutual love of Bavarian food and culture, plus multiple drives across the Alps. For over 20 years since the cardinal moved to Rome, Kuehnel has made cross-continental trips to bring Bavarian food, drink and cultural items. "I have been delivering all those items he misses about Bavaria: Adelholzener fruit nectar, Bavarian sausages from his favorite restaurant, Franziskaner, where we often dined together, Advent wreaths and genuine Bavarian Christmas trees." He added that the Pope "definitely has a sweet tooth," "particularly looks forward to dessert whenever we go out to eat," and is partial to German candy.

Kuehnel says their relationship is so close that he arranged the 75th birthday celebrations for the cardinal. In Rome, they often dined in an intimate circle: Kuehnel, the cardinal, his private secretary or his sister when she was still alive. He added that he is grateful that his bank gave him the necessary freedom for his frequent travels.

Father Hans Kung

Kung and Ratzinger, who have known each other for almost 50 years, met Sept. 24 in Castel Gandolfo for a visit. Father Kung believes that the moral values common to the world's main religions can be acceptable to people of no religious faith as well as to believers, Navarro-Valls said.

Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Vatican spokesman, said Sept. 26 that the pope and Father Kung "agreed that in the space of this meeting it made no sense to enter into an argument about the doctrinal questions remaining between Hans Kung and the magisterium of the church." Father Kung served as a theological expert at the Second Vatican Council, but in 1979 the Vatican withdrew permission for him to teach as a Catholic theologian, although not restricting his ministry as a Catholic priest.

In a book Cardinal Ratzinger said he had met Father Kung in 1957 at a theological convention. The two served as experts at the Second Vatican Council, 1962-65. The two had "a good personal relationship," although as time went on it became clear that their theological positions were growing further and further apart, the future pope wrote.

The Path to Becoming Pope

John Paul II

Cardinal Ratzinger first met Karol Wojtyla, who later became Pope John Paul II, in 1977, and again at a Cardinal's meeting in 1979, after Wojtyla became Pope.

Ratzinger served the Pope as his doctrinal watchdog and close theological advisor, working at his side for 25 years.

Conclave

Following the death of John Paul II, Ratzinger was often seen as the spokesman of the Vatican. At the mass before the conclave, he preached a homily warning against any deviation from traditional Catholic teaching. He was one of only two cardinals in the latest conclave who were not chosen by John Paul.

As dean of the College of Cardinals, he presided over John Paul's funeral Mass and the daily meetings of cardinals to discuss the next papacy. He also presided over Mass before the Conclave met. Photo: before conclave (18k).

Election as Pope

A decision was announced after one of the shortest conclaves in a century that sent an unmistakable signal that the church, buffeted by 21st-century problems, is intent on sticking to tradition. Benedict had gone into the two-day conclave in the Sistine Chapel as one of the favorites.

He emerged Tuesday, April 19, 2005, as the oldest pontiff in 275 years, the only one older being Clement XII who became Pope in 1730. Ratzinger is also the first Germanic pope in almost a millennium.

Coincidentally, April 19 is the feast of St. Leo IX, a German pope who instituted major reforms in the Middle Ages during his papacy.

Choosing Papal Name

Benedict confirmed that his choice of papal name had been inspired by Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922), who sought in vain to bring an end to World War One in 1917, and Benedict of Norcia, the 5th century founder of the Benedictine monastic order and a patron saint of Europe.

He noted St. Benedict was particularly revered in Bavaria, where he represents a fundamental point of reference for the unity of Europe. About Benedict XV, he said, "I remember Pope Benedict XV, that courageous prophet of peace, who guided the Church through turbulent times of war."

Pope Benedict XV had the difficult task of providing leadership for Catholic countries on opposite sides of World War I. His declared neutrality and repeated protests against inhumane weapons like poison gas angered both sides. Benedict was also known for his outreach to Muslims and efforts to close the nearly 1,000-year estrangement with Christian Orthodox churches — a possible signal that this could be a priority of his papacy.

Coat of Arms

Benedict's coat of arms includes elements that are on the insignia of the diocese of Munich and Friesing, where the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger served as archbishop from 1977 until he was called to Rome in 1981. They include a crowned Ethiopian, a bear and a mussel. The bear, which is saddled with heavy packs, symbolizes the weight of the papal office while the mussel dates to a parable by St. Augustine — about whose works Ratzinger wrote his final thesis — and symbolizes diving into the sea of God. Photo: coat of arms (26k).

Inauguration Day

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his first public Mass as the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church at St. Peters on Wednesday, April 24, 2005.

After his inauguration Benedict drove through a crowd of the faithful to the nearby church of Saint Mary Major to pray in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary and lay flowers. He was greeted by US Cardinal Bernard Law, former archbishop of Boston, now archpriest of the basilica. Law had to resign his Boston post in 2002 after being accused of covering up the activities of paedophile priests. (Source: article 5/7/05 Catholic Online.)

May 7 he was enthroned in a mass at Saint John Lateran Basilica meaning Pope Benedict XVI formally took over the bishopric of Rome, thereby ending the ceremonies surrounding his inauguration as pontiff. He issued a warning that it was a papal duty to fight what he called wrong interpretations of freedom. In his address he said his role was to be "the witness of the word of God" in the face "of mistaken conceptions of freedom."

First Activities as Pope

The Pope heldl his first General Audience in St. Peter's Square, on April 27, 2005, where he explained the selection of his papal name.

As a boy, Joseph often went with his parents to Altotting, Germany, to pray at the shrine of the Black Madonna. During his first official audience for German pilgrims April 25, Altotting Mayor Herbert Hofauer presented him with a copy of the Black Madonna.

Pope Benedict spent most of the summer months at the papal summer residence south of Rome, in Castel Gandolfo.

The first papal trip was May 29, 2005, consisting of a helicopter flight for a 3-hour trip to Bari to celebrate Mass. Bari is said to be a "bridge" between East and West - a major Adriatic seaport near the "heel" of the boot-shaped Italy, and also a bridge between East (Orthodox) and West (Catholic) churches. The relics of St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra in the 4th century who is one of the most popular saints in both churches, is kept in Bari.

Church Subjects

Positions on Subjects

In 1984, he said, "Communist regimes which came to power in the name of the liberation are one of the disgraces of our times."

A conservative on issues such as homosexuality, the ordination of women, and lifting the celibacy requirement for priests, Benedict has led the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

He has condemned homosexuality, gay marriage and the use of condoms to prevent AIDS.

During his time as Pope John Paul II's "watchdog" and advisor, Cardinal Ratzinger opposed liberation theology as well as religious relativism, which holds that no faith can claim to be the sole vessel of truth.

Ratzinger protected the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — a position he used to discipline church dissidents and uphold church policy against attempts at reform by liberals and activist priests.

Benedict has denounced rock music, dismissed anyone who tries to find "feminist" meanings in the Bible, and last year told American bishops it was appropriate to deny Communion to those who support abortion and euthanasia.

Since becoming Pope

Pope Benedict, in his first clear pronouncement on gay marriages since his election, condemned same-sex unions as fake and expressions of "anarchic freedom" that threatened the future of the family. He also condemned divorce, artificial birth control, trial marriages and free-style unions, saying all of these practices were dangerous for the family. "The greatest expression of freedom is not the search for pleasure," he said, adding that society seemed to want to tear down the moral goalposts he said were needed for its future.(Source: article 6/6/05 Catholic Online.)

World Youth Day, Cologne, Germany - August 22, 2005

In a historic visit to Cologne's synagogue, the pope eloquently highlighted the common religious heritage shared by Christians and Jews. He also condemned the Holocaust, but without revisiting the church's self-criticism on the issue; he blamed Nazi ideology on "neopaganism" and stayed away from the question of the moral failures of German Christians. Photo: World Youth Day (29k).

In his meeting with Jews, he never once spoke about his personal experiences in wartime Germany. His own influence at the Second Vatican Council went unmentioned by the pope -- though not by his dialogue partners in Cologne.

In none of his appearances with young people did he reminisce about his own youth. When one girl asked him if he had any dreams as a child, he reflected and said he probably did not analyze his feelings much at that age.

Pope: Holocaust as 'darkest period' in Germany

in a synagogue destroyed during the 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom and rebuilt in 1959, the Pope addressed some 500 Jewish representatives in Cologne. The Jewish community in Cologne is the oldest in Europe north of the Alps and was decimated during World War II.

The hour-long visit marked only the second time a modern pope has entered a Jewish place of worship. Pope John Paul II made a historic visit to Rome's synagogue in 1986.

Reputation

Ratzinger was the Vatican's hard-line enforcer of church orthodoxy under John Paul II for almost 25 years.

Supporters and skeptics alike say Benedict is revealing himself as a man more complicated, subtle and personally warm than many had expected from his years as the Vatican's defender of the faith.

He is the most revered prelate, scholar, theologian, teacher and Catholic author of our time. (Source: Ignatius Insight.)

Internet doomsayers say Pope Benedict fits end world prophecy.

Believers say Benedict fits the description of the second-to-last pope listed under the prophecy before the Last Judgement, when the bible says God separates the wicked from the righteous at the end of time. The reference is to a 12th century Catholic prophecy attributed to St. Malachy, an Irish archbishop recognized by members of the Church for his ability to read the future.

St. Malachy was said to have had a vision during a trip to Rome around 1139, regarding the remaining 112 Popes. Benedict XVI would be number 111 on that list, and is described in a text attributed to St. Malachy as the "Glory of the Olive." Connecting the pale, bookish German to anything olive might require some imagination. The watchers point to the choice of the name Benedict - an allusion to the Order of St. Benedict, a branch of which is known as the Olivetans. Another speculated that perhaps as a peacemaker in the Church or the world, the Pope will carry the olive branch.

Critics widely dismiss the Malachy prophecy as forgery, hoax and propaganda meant to influence 16th century conclaves. More pressing for doomsayers are the prophecy's references to the last Pope on the list, Peter the Roman, who will lead the Church before "the formidable judge will judge his people." Since Benedict is already 78, they say Peter the Roman must be coming soon, and with him, the end of the world. (Source: article 4/29/05 Catholic Online.)

Timeline

1927 Apr 16	born and baptized on Holy Saturday in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany.
1937	Ratzinger family settled in Traunstein, he was about age 10.
1939	entered seminary at age 12.
1943	drafted by Nazi army.
1945 Jun 19	released from POW camp at end of World War Two.
1951	ordained a priest at the Riesing cathedral, at age 24.
1953	received doctorate in theology from University of Munich.
1957	met German theologian, Father Hans Kung.
1959-1963	began teaching theology at University of Bonn.
1963-1966	taught at University of Münster.
1962-1965	served as an expert at Vatican II.
1965-1968	professor of dogma at University of Tübingen. (some sources put this at 1966-1969.)
1968	professor at the new University of Regensburg, Germany. (some sources put this at 1969.)
1972	founded the theological journal Communio with several others.
1977	first meeting of Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II.
1977 Mar	became the Archbishop of Munich and Friesing.
1977 Jun 27	elevated into College of Cardinals by Pope Paul VI.
1978	vacation in Bad Adelholzen, Bavaria, with brother Georg and sister Maria, met Thaddaeus Joseph Kuehnel, Director, Hauck and Aufhaeuser, private bank in Munich.
1979	elevated to Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany.
1981 Nov 25	moved to Italy to work at the Vatican Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
1986-1992	President of the Commission for the Preparation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
1988 Nov 6	elected Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals.
1993 Apr 5	elevated to the Order of Bishops assigning to him the Suburbicarian See of Velletri-Segni.
2002 Nov 30	approved by John Paull II as Dean of the College of Cardinals.
2005 Apr 16	78th birthday.
2005 Apr 19	became Pope Benedict XVI, leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
2005 Apr 21	Holy See's internet office released Pope's email address to the press - benedictxvi@vatican.va
2005 Apr 24	celebrated his inaugural Mass.
2005 Apr 25	first official audience for German pilgrims at Altotting, Germany.
2005 May 7	enthroned in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, officially took over bishopric of Rome.
2005 May 29	first papal trip, flew to eastern seaport of Bari to celebrate Mass.
2005 Jun 6	"The greatest expression of freedom is not the search for pleasure."
2005 Sep 24	friendly encounter between the Pope and his friend, German theologian Father Hans Kung.
2005 Sep 28	returned from the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, moved into newly renovated papal apartments.