Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger

An established professor of theology, he participated in the Second Vatican Council and later took an active part in the journals Concilium and Communio, of which he was one of the founders. Appointed archbishop of Munich and Freising and created cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1977, during John Paul II's pontificate he was among his closest collaborators, being called to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1981 to 2005. Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2002, he succeeded Pope John Paul II with the 2005 conclave. In the ordinary consistory of Feb. 11, 2013, he announced his renunciation "of the ministry of bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter," with the sede vacante taking effect on Feb. 28 of the same month.He was the eighth pontiff to renounce the Petrine ministry.