Timeline
April 16, 1927: Joseph Ratzinger born in Marktl Inn, Bavaria
1939: Enters the minor seminary in Traunstein.
1943: At the age of 16, he and members of his seminary class are drafted into the German anti-aircraft corps.
1945: Deserts the army and returns to Traunstein. He is briefly held by American forces in a prisoner of war camp. After his release, he re-enters the seminary.
1951: Ordained into the priesthood by Cardinal Faulhaber of Munich.
1953: Receives his doctorate in theology from the University of Munich with a thesis entitled "The People and House of God in St. Augistine's Doctrine of the Church."
1959: Begins lecturing as a professor of fundamental theology at the University of Bonn.
1962-1965: Participates in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council as theological adviser to Cardinal Joseph Frings of Cologne, Germany.
1972: Becomes one of the co-founders of Communio, a journal of Catholic theology.
1977: Named Archbishop of Munich and Freising in March and elevated to Cardinal of Munich in June by Pope Paul VI.
1981: Named Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II.
1998: Named Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals.
2002: Elected Dean of the College of Cardinals.
April 19, 2005: Cardinal Ratzinger elected as the 265th pope and chooses the name Pope Benedict XVI.