Benedict XVI is celebrating his 93rd birthday today. Although he stepped down from office in 2013 for  reasons of “advanced age and weakening health,” he has managed to stay in relatively good health in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in Rome.

On the 13th of March 2013, the Conclave elected a cardinal from Argentina named Jorge Mario Bergoglio as his replacement. The new bishop of Rome took the name Francis.

Before Cardinal Ratzinger became pope, he was the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. 

Privately, Ratzinger was a friend of Pope John Paul II. The first time the future Pope Benedict XVI met the future Pope John Paul II was in 1978 – at the Conclave. They immediately became friends.

Source: nczas.com

Image: tokfm.pl