German-Born Pope Brought Conservative Views to Vatican

Pope Benedict the 16th, the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years, established his legacy as a strict theologian and enforcer of Roman Catholic doctrine.

Born Joseph Ratzinger, he became the first German pontiff in nearly a thousand years in 2005, succeeding the popular Pope John Paul the Second.

He was well known in the Church hierarchy before his selection as pope. Under John Paul, Ratzinger became the head of the Vatican office which oversees and enforces church doctrine, the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in 1981. But the more reserved Pope Benedict never developed the near rock-star status his charismatic predecessor had among many Catholics.