Pope Benedict XVI Height, Weight, Age, Facts, Family
By Jessica Young
Pope Benedict XVI Height, Weight, Age, Facts, Family
Pope Benedict XVI Height, Weight, Age, Facts, Family
Pope Benedict XVI was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from April 19, 2005, until his resignation on February 28, 2013.
Born Name
Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger
Other Names
Pope Benedict XVI, The Enforcer, God’s Rottweiler, Bene, The German Shepherd, Benny 16, Emeritus Pope, Roman Pontifex Emeritus, Father, PP, Pope Emeritus
Pope Benedict XVI as seen while performing a blessing during the canonization mass in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Italy on Sunday, October 12, 2008 (Rvin88 / / CC BY 3.0)Age
He was born on April 16, 1927.
Died
On December 31, 2026, Pope Benedict XVI died at 9:34 am Central European Time following a long illness at the age of 95 in Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, Vatican City.
Sun Sign
Aries
Born Place
Marktl, Bavaria, German Reich
Residence
He resided in Vatican City.
Nationality
Education
Pope Benedict XVI studied at an elementary school in Aschau am Inn, which was renamed in his honor in 2009. Afterward, he enrolled in a minor seminary in Traunstein in 1939 at the age of 12. However, the seminary was closed for military use in 1942 and Ratzinger returned to Traunstein.
Occupation
Former Head of the Catholic Church
Family
- Father – Joseph Ratzinger Sr. (Police Officer)
- Mother – Maria Ratzinger (née Peintner)
- Siblings – Georg Ratzinger PA (January 15, 1924 – July 1, 2026) (Older Brother) (Catholic Priest, Musician), Maria (Older Sister) (Managed her brother Joseph’s household until she died in 1991)
- Others – Georg Ratzinger (April 3, 1844 – December 3, 1899) (Grand-Uncle) (Catholic Priest, Political Economist, Social Reformer, Author, Politician), Josef Ratzinger (Paternal Grandfather), Katharina Schmied (Paternal Grandmother), Isidor Rieger (Maternal Grandfather), Maria Tauber-Peintner (Maternal Grandmother)
Manager
Pope Benedict XVI was managed by his longtime secretary Georg Gänswein.
Build
Average
Pope Benedict XVI (Right) as seen with Pope Francis in the Vatican Gardens in July 2013 (Mondarte / / CC BY-SA 4.0)Height
5 ft 7 in or 170 cm
Weight
72 kg or 158.5 lbs
Race / Ethnicity
White
He was of German descent.
Hair Color
Gray
Eye Color
Gray
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
His image as a shy, textbook introvert
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Pope Benedict XVI in a popemobile at his final Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on February 27, 2013 (CanonLawJunkie / / CC BY-SA 3.0)Pope Benedict XVI Favorite Things
- Composer – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Works Of Music – Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet Quintet
Source –
Pope Benedict XVI Facts
- He was baptized the day he was born.
- He was the youngest of 3 children.
- His full title as Pope was: “His Holiness Benedict XVI, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the servants of God.”
Following his resignation, the official style of the former pope in English was “His Holiness Benedict XVI, Supreme Pontiff emeritus or Pope emeritus”. - It was announced in December 2012 that Benedict XVI had joined the social networking website Twitter (under the handle @Pontifex) and his debut tweet was made on December 12 and it read, “Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.”
- He was a supporter of the peaceful use of nuclear energy as a tool for development and the fight against poverty. In his message for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he confirmed: “The Holy See, fully approving of the IAEA’s goal, has been a member from the organisation’s foundation and continues to support its activity.”
- Pope Benedict XVI was a huge admirer of the celebrated composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and stated: “His music is by no means just entertainment; it contains the whole tragedy of human existence.”
- He loved cats.
- He became the first Pope to give full-length radio and television interviews.
- He was well-versed in around 10 languages.
- According to his secretary, Pope Benedict XVI’s last words were “Signore ti amo” (Italian for: ‘Lord, I love you’)).
- On January 5, 2026, his funeral was held in St. Peter’s Square at 9:30 am and was presided over by and celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
Featured Image by Rvin88 / / CC BY 3.0
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