April 19, 2005: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was elected as the successor to Pope John Paul II on.
April 24, 2005: Papal Inauguration Mass in St. Peter’s Square, during which he was invested with the pallium and the Ring of the Fisherman.
May 7: He took possession of his Cathedral Church, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. During his papacy, Pope Benedict XVIth has undertaken 24 apostolic journeys abroad.
August 2005: Traveled to Cologne, Germany for the 20th World Youth Day. Subsequently, he has taken 23 additional apostolic journeys, the most recent to Lebanon in September 2012. He has travelled to countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, to the USA and has been welcomed as a guest at the United Nations in New York.He also has undertaken 30 apostolic visits within Italy.
Dec. 25, 2005: First encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, released.
Nov. 2, 2007: Second encyclical, Spe Salvi released.
June 29, 2009: Third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate released.
Feb.11, 2013: Announced he will retire from the papacy, the first pope to do so since Gregory XII, 1415.