Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died Saturday in Vatican City following a brief illness. In 2013, Benedict became the first pontiff to relinquish his title in six centuries. Benedict cited his old age.
Benedict was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on April 27, 1927. He spent the final years of his life in Vatican City.
Tributes from world leaders have poured in following the news of his death.
Fox News further reports:
Benedict was born Joseph Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, in Bavaria. He came of age in Germany after World War I at the same time the Nazi regime was growing in power.
His Roman Catholic family — harassed and punished by the Nazi Party for their opposition to state policies — shaped his desire to commit to the church.Â
Ratzinger was inspired to join the priesthood at an early age when he was tasked with presenting flowers to Archbishop Michael von Faulhaber of Munich. Seeing the clergyman's crimson robes and refined demeanor, the five-year-old Ratzinger declared he would become a cardinal.Â
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At the age of 14, Ratzinger was mandated by law to become a member of the Hitler Youth alongside all other German children of his age group. Ratzinger resented the organization and became horrified after his cousin, who suffered from Down's syndrome, was abducted and killed by the government as part of their Aktion T4 campaign.
As Germany's fortunes in the war turned, Ratzinger, despite being a seminarian, was conscripted to serve in the anti-aircraft corps and, eventually, the regular military.
He abandoned his unit in April 1945 and returned to a life of peace.
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& he was Pro Life