Vatican City: It’s been 43 years since Emeritus Benedict XVI was elevated to the rank of Cardinal. Former Pope, Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) was promoted to being a Cardinal on June 27, 1977, when he was the Patriarch of Munich and Friesing, Germany. He was fifty years old at the time. In just four years, in 1981, Saint John Paul II appointed Benedict XVI as head of the Vatican Council. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was then appointed to the throne of Peter in April 2005 after 25 years of outstanding service.
He was ordained in February 2013 after serving as head of the global church for eight years. Since his inauguration, he has been living a life of prayer and study in the Ecclesia monastery of the Vatican. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is now 93 years old, having gained new faith experience through the Apostolic Epistles and Letters. Private Secretary Mon. George Ganswein and a handful of ministers are in charge of his affairs. The birthplace of Emeritus Joseph Ratzinger aka Benedict XVI, Bavaria, Germany, is now a museum visited by many people.
