Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI (; ; ; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger; ; 16 April 1927) served as Pope of the Catholic Church and as sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2005 until his resignation in 2013. Benedict's election as pope occurred in the 2005 papal conclave that followed the death of Pope John Paul II. The Vatican announced his withdrawal by bestowing him the title Pope Emeritus shortly after his resignation. Ordained as a priest in 1951 in his native Bavaria, Ratzinger had established himself as a highly regarded university theologian by the late 1950s and was
Francis Joseph Schenk of Crookston by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 24 from Archbishop John Murray, with Bishops Thomas Anthony Welch and Aloisius Joseph Muench serving as co-consecrators. During his tenure in Crookston, he established over 30 new churches, founded "Our Northland Diocese" newspaper, and organized diocesan offices of the Catholic Social Service Agency and the Catholic Youth Organization. He also founded summer boarding schools for children of the thousands of Mexican migrant workers who worked in the diocese. Following the death of Bishop Welch, Schenk was appointed the fourth Bishop of Duluth by Pope John