Benedict XVI died on 31 December 2022 in Vatican City, aged 95. A German theologian, Joseph Ratzinger was ordained a priest in 1951 and became a professor and an adviser at the Second Vatican Council. As archbishop of Munich and then for more than two decades as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he was a leading defender of Catholic orthodoxy. He was elected pope in April 2005 after the death of John Paul II and wrote encyclicals on love and hope. His papacy was troubled by the sexual abuse scandals and by internal affairs at the Vatican. In February 2013 he resigned, the first pope to do so in almost six hundred years, and lived as pope emeritus until his death.
Before and after
- 30 November 2022ChatGPT
- 5 December 2022The National Ignition Facility achieves fusion ignition
- 29 December 2022Death of Pelé
- from 31 December 2022 to 1 January 2023Makiivka military quarters shelling
- 31 December 2022Death of Benedict XVI
- 20232023 Brazilian Congress attack
- 20232023 Gabon coup d'état
- 20232023 antisemitic riots in the North Caucasus
- 20232023 becomes the warmest year on record
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1946First edition of Cannes Film Festival
- from 25 August 1966 to 11 September 2001Construction of World Trade Center
- 27 May 1992Publication of Azərbaycan marşı
- 2003Construction of Three Gorges Dam
- 2009Premiere of As Aventuras de Gui & Estopa
- from 17 September 2021 to 27 June 2025Premiere of Squid Game
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.