Pope Benedict XVI: The rise of 'God's Rottweiler'
POPE Benedict XVI is only the second non-Italian Pope since 1522, having been born Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria in 1927.
He was forced into the Hitler Youth at 14 and the German army at 16, before deserting.
Benedict was ordained in 1951. After several years teaching theology in Germany, he was appointed Bishop of Munich in 1977 and elevated to cardinal three months later.
As an enforcer of Catholic orthodoxy he became known as “God’s Rottweiler”.
His strong views have seen him hit out at everything from homosexuality to rock music, as well as women priests, euthanasia, abortion and birth control.
The Church he inherited in 2005 was beset with clerical child sex abuse allegations.
A visit to Africa in 2009 was overshadowed by a row sparked by comments he made against the use of condoms to fight Aids.
He took the Church into the digital age in December with the first papal tweet.