Pope Benedict XVI turns 93 and celebrates 15 years since being elected pope
April 15,2020
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI turns 93 on Thursday, April 16.
Usually, Benedict XVI recalls his Bavarian roots when he celebrates his birthday – even drinking beer and eating bretzels a few years ago.
In the past, his brother, Georg Ratzinger, 96, had also come to visit him on his birthday. This year, though, his special day will be spent inside the Vatican at his residence, the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery.
There he will celebrate with those closest to him, including his private secretary, Georg Ganswein.
Because of the lockdown, it’s uncertain if Pope Francis will be able to make a visit, as he has in the past.
The pope emeritus also has another anniversary on Sunday, April 19. He celebrates 15 years since being named pope.
His papacy lasted eight years. He visited more than 20 countries and published three encyclicals and three books during that time.
In his seven years as pope emeritus, he has become more frail with age. He remains in his residence, but still greets the new cardinals after each consistory. The most recent one was in October 2019, when 13 new cardinals went to greet him at his residence.
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Want to know more about his life? Watch the documentary: “Benedict XVI: In honor of the Truth” on Rome Reports Premium.
Melissa Butz
Benedict XVI’s 90th Birthday: Copyright: L’Osservatore Romano
Happy 93rd Birthday, Benedict XVI!
From Archives, We Remember Benedict XVI’s Words at His 90th Birthday Celebration
Benedict XVI has turned 93 today!!
ZENIT welcomes you to join us in wishing the Pope Emeritus a happy and blessed birthday.
This year’s birthday will be different given the restrictions and lockdowns in place, across Italy, Europe and the world, which will not permit for his brother, Mons. Georg Ratzinger, to join him this year.
Yet, “we are doing well,” Benedict’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein says.
Given these circumstances, Zenit thought we could reminisce about his 90th birthday, when circumstances were different, and what the German retired Pontiff had to say.
zenitenglish
✔@zenitenglish
HAPPY 93rd #BIRTHDAY #BENEDICT!! JOIN IN WISHING #BENEDICTXVI A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! #AdMoltosAnnos!! These photos include two where the #PopeEmeritus received Zenit Senior Vatican Correspondent, @DeborahLubov, in July 2017. #BenedettoXVI #Ratzinger #BenoitXVI #BenedictoXVI
Benedict XVI celebrated his 90th Birthday in Bavarian Style. According to the Holy See Press Office, on April 17, 2017, the day after his birthday, the Pope Emeritus welcomed in the Vatican a group of about 50 Bavarians, dressed in traditional attire. That year, Benedict’s birthday coincided with Easter Day.
‘My heart is full of gratitude,” he said, “for the 90 years that the good God has given me. There have been trials and difficult times, but He has always guided me and brought me out of them, so that I could continue my journey’
Below is a Zenit translation of Pope Benedict’s words of thanks to his “Bavarian friends” who came to the Vatican to celebrate with him at the “Mater Ecclesiae” Monastery in the Vatican Gardens, where the retired Pontiff resides:
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“My heart is full of gratitude for the 90 years that the good God has given me. There have been trials and difficult times, but He has always guided me and brought me out of them, so that I could continue my journey and I am full of gratitude especially because He has given me such a beautiful homeland that now you (the Gebirgsschutzen, Bavarian mountain riflemen) bring to me. Bavaria is beautiful [for its] creation. The country is beautiful for its bells, the houses with the balconies full of flowers, the people who are good. It is beautiful in Bavaria because God is known and it is known that it is He who created the world and that it is good when we build it together with Him. I thank you so much for having brought Bavaria here, that Bavaria open to the world, vivacious, happy, which can be so because it roots sink in the faith. To you all a ‘Vergelt’s Gott’ (God reward you), beginning with the Governor of Bavaria and all of you. I am happy that we were able to meet under this beautiful Roman blue sky, which with its white clouds recalls the white-blue flag of Bavaria – it is always the same sky . . . I wish you God’s blessing. Take my greetings home, my gratitude to you and with how much pleasure, in my heart, I continue to walk and to live in our landscapes and I hope that everything will remain so. Vergelt’s Gott.”
Read the source: https://zenit.org/articles/happy-93rd-birthday-benedict-xvi-2/
[Translation of Vatican Radio-provided transcription by ZENIT]
Benedict XVI’s 90th Birthday: Copyright: L’Osservatore Romano