POPE BENEDICT XVI

This suncatcher is centered on a semiformal picture of Pope Benedict XVI. Born in 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany. Joseph Ratzinger had a distinguished career as a university theologian before being appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI (1963–78). Shortly afterwards, he was made a cardinal in the consistory of June 27, 1977.He was appointed Prefect of the Congregation fort he Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II in 1981. On November 30, 2002, he was elected dean of the College of Cardinals. Even before becoming Pope, Joseph Ratzinger was one of the most influential men in the Roman Curia, and was a close associate of John Paul II. As Dean of the College of Cardinals, he presided over the funeral of John Paul II and over the Mass immediately preceding the 2005 conclave in which he was elected. During the service, he called on the assembled cardinals to hold fast to the doctrine of the faith. Like his predecessor John Paul II, Benedict XVI maintains the traditional Catholic doctrines on artificial birth control, abortion and homosexuality.

As well as his native German, Benedict XVI fluently speaks Italian, French, English, Spanish, Dutch, and Latin, and has knowledge of Portuguese. He can read Ancient Greek and biblical Hebrew. He is a member of a large number of academies, such as the French Académie des sciences morales et politiques. He plays the piano and has a preference for Mozart.

In his homily during the Inaugural Mass, he revealed the heart of his personal spirituality and the heart of his petrine teaching ministry, where he referred to both Jesus Christ and John Paul II. After referring to John Paul II's well-known words, "Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!” Benedict XVI said: “ Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? … And once again said: NO! If we let Christ into our lives, we loose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. NO! Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation…. When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open. Open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life.

"Friendship with Jesus Christ" is a theme of his preaching which is found in many of Benedict's homilies and addresses. He has also said: "We are all called to open ourselves to this friendship with God... speaking to him as to a friend, the only One who can make the world both good and happy... That is all we have to do is put ourselves at his disposal...is an extremely important message. It is a message that helps to overcome what can be considered the great temptation of our time: the claim, that after the Big Bang, God withdrew from history." Thus, in his book Jesus of Nazareth, his main purpose was "to help foster [in the reader] the growth of a living relationship" with Jesus Christ." He took up this theme in his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est. In his personal explanation and summary of the encyclical, he stated: "If friendship with God becomes for us something ever more important and decisive, then we will begin to love those whom God loves and who are in need of us. God wants us to be friends of his friends and we can be so, if we are interiorly close to them."[32] Thus, he said that prayer is "urgently needed...It is time to reaffirm the importance of prayer in the face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work."

In this window, just above his picture is the sign of the cross that Benedict reminds us is lite in relation to the glory that lies before us. Above the cross is the Holy Spirit who leads Pope Benedict in his personal life and in his Petrine ministry in the Church. ON the outer edge of the window are twenty small aqua blue circles that represent the twenty mysteries of the rosary, which is a contemplative prayer on the life of Jesus while on earth and his glory now in heaven and which Pope Benedict prays every day. In between the rosary beads are twenty-two yellow orange diamond shapes that symbolize the angels assigned to protect and inspire the Pope in his ministry of feeding and tending the Lords sheep. On either side Pope Benedict are two stars - one that represent Jesus as the bright day star that Jesus calls himself in the book of revelation and the other represent Mary as the bright morning star that precedes Jesus the bright glorious day star (the Son/sun). Just below the image of Pope Benedict is his papal shield. On the right side of his shield is the Sacred Heart of Jesus and on the left is the Immaculate Heart of Mary.