Five years ago, Benedict XVI resigned as head of the Catholic Church. By doing so, he launched a new era for the Vatican. And he taught us how to face old age with dignity, DW's Christoph Strack writes.
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Rellandini
"Sensation" was not strong enough to convey the import of Pope Benedict XVI 's announcement on Rose Monday five years ago that he would resign. It was a deep shock — a break with the past. German media assured their audiences that the 85-year-old pope's retirement was not a Carnival joke.
By resigning, Benedict, who was born Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria, restored the papacy's humanity. His predecessor, John Paul II, who died in office, had declared that a pope did not resign, whispering just weeks before his death to his long-serving secretary, Stanislaw Dziwisz — whom Benedict would elevate to cardinal — that "one does not descend from the cross."
DW's Christoph StrackImage: DW
Of course, for faithful Christians, it is not the pope, but a far more important figure who hangs from the cross. Benedict made a different decision than his predecessor had and in doing so brought the papacy back down to earth.
"If a pope comes to the clear realization that he can no longer physically, mentally and spiritually accomplish the mission of his ministry, then he has a right — and possibly also a duty — to resign," Benedict had said in an interview in 2010. Only a theologian of Benedict's stature could have resigned with such confidence.
'The homeward pilgrimage'
Five years later, church lawyers still have many unanswered questions about Benedict's resignation. How do you address a resigned pope? (The term "emeritus pope" — papa emerito — is not widely accepted.) What should he wear in public? Should he wear papal white? Or the red worn by cardinals? And what about his place of residence? In Benedict's case, with his monastic life in the Vatican gardens, this question has been resolved, although not formalized. No ecclesiastical law would prohibit a secluded old age, wherever it may be. And some people have been irritated by the fact that a "life of prayer," as a service to the "holy church of God," which Benedict spoke of when he announced his resignation, has since been accompanied by a number of very ecclesiopolitical statements.
By resigning, Benedict made it possible for the College of Cardinals to elect a reformer — albeit a thoroughly conservative one. Benedict became a pope of transition, but will be remembered in church history as much more than that. No other step, not even the establishment of the question of papal infallibility, has changed the papal ministry so fundamentally in past centuries. In this way, Benedict changed the Catholic Church. Although it is not yet possible to say to what extent.
"The church is a big ship, not a canoe."
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Benedict's decision to spend his life in seclusion after his retirement went into effect on the evening of February 28, 2013, had nothing to do with the church and power, but rather was about the existential questions of the dignity and burden of old age. A few days ago, Benedict wrote to an Italian newspaper, moved by the fact that so many of its readers wanted to know "how I spend this last phase of my life.”
"All I can say is that while my physical strength is slowly dwindling, I have inwardly embarked on the homeward pilgrimage," Benedict wrote. "It is a great blessing for me, and one I could not have imagined, to be surrounded by such love and kindness on this last part of my, at times laborious, journey." Anyone who has ever accompanied an old person at the end of his or her life will understand what that means.
Benedict XVI remains a great theologian. He is a deeply religious man in his advanced age.
He was regarded as aloof and conservative - as a "transitional pope." Indeed, his eight-year papacy, which ended with his resignation, was relatively short. Here are little known sides of the German pope.
Image: Reuters
Surprisingly warm-hearted
Joseph Ratzinger was often described as conservative, aloof and shy. So how could the modest theologian ever conquer the hearts of Catholics around the world and lead the Church? After his appointment, the professor continued to prefer quiet study to the media hoopla. But by the time he addressed the crowd at World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005, he had learned how to inspire the masses.
Image: Reuters
Double holiness
There had never been two popes in a photo. And not since 1415 had a pope resigned. In 2013, Benedict XVI announced that he was not going to remain in office until his last breath. It was a disputed decision. His successor, however, said it was a courageous step. Pope Francis I appreciates his colleague as an "outstanding theologian" and a "man who really believes."
Image: Reuters/Handout/Osservatore Romano
A reticent media star
Benedict XVI's predecessor, John Paul II, held the papacy for 26 years. There was scarcely a country whose soil he had not kissed. But although the German pope had a very different nature, he soon traveled to 24 countries - and made a surprisingly good impression. In Latin America, he even inspired Fidel Castro and brother Raul - Good Friday has since been a public holiday in socialist Cuba.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Guzman
Heavenly music
"As soon as the first notes resounded from Mozart's 'Coronation Mass,' the heavens practically opened and you experienced, very deeply, the Lord's presence," said an enthused Benedict XVI, a great lover of classical music and himself a passionate pianist. Mozart remains his favorite composer. "Mozart is beautiful as God's creation is beautiful."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Romano
Blessed shoes
Red shoes have long been part of the pope's official attire, a tradition stretching back to the Roman Empire. The red is a reminder of Christ's blood on the cross. Like his predecessor John Paul II, Benedict XVI's footwear was handmade by an Italian shoemaker. He also ordered a pair red of red hiking boots.
Image: Photoshot/picture-alliance
A godly brew
The pope might himself have drunk a small beer at the most. However, after he was elected to the papacy, Benedict XVI's Bavarian origins inspired an ingenuous brewery to serve up the first papal beer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Gebert
Brotherly love
The brothers Josef and Georg Ratzinger were both ordained into the priesthood in 1951. Josef became a theology professor, Georg the director of the Regensburg Cathedral Choir. Despite the former's papal office, the intimate relationship between the brothers remained. They are said to have phoned each other at least once a week - and now also go on holiday together.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Vatican Pool
Bestselling author
There is hardly a job that is more demanding than the highest office in the Catholic church: addressing audiences, a permanent media presence, traveling abroad. During the little free time, one might suspect the pontiff rests and relaxes. Not so for Benedict XVI. In his spare moments, the pope wrote a theological trilogy about Jesus that ended up on worldwide bestseller lists.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Haid
Favorite saint
It was not like him to prefer a particular saint. In his sermons, however, a few more frequently appear, such as St. Augustine, before whose remains he once prayed. Speaking to a general audience, Benedict XVI said, "St Augustine was a man who never lived superficially; his thirst - his restless and constant thirst - for the truth is one of the basic characteristics of his existence."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Rellandini
'Grazie Buonaotte!'
"Thank you and good night": these were Benedict XVI's last official words on February 28, 2013. The day before, he and thousands of believers took part in large ceremonies. There were tears, calls of Pope "Benedetto," and the waving of flags from all over the world. Now "Papa emeritus" lives in the Vatican monastery, Mater Ecclesiae, fulfilling his wish to continue to serve God in constant prayer.
