Pope Benedict XVI

Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005 , the first German pope in almost 500 years. A brilliant intellectual who speaks five languages and can read old Greek, Latin and classical Hebrew, he has a near-photographic memory. He is conservative, humble and reserved but also controversial because of his membership in the Hitler Youth and his former job as Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF), essentially making decisions every day on the Catholic way of doing things.