The life of Pope Benedict XVI: Images from 7 decades

In this photo released by the German Catholic News Agency KNA and dated from 1938, Joseph Ratzinger, far left, is seen with his family: father Josef, sister Maria, mother Maria, brother Georg.

Outside view of the birthplace of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in Marktl, southern Germany, April 14, 2005.

This is a 1943 photo provided by the German Catholic News Agency KNA, showing Joseph Ratzinger in the uniform of a German military anti-aircraft unit helper.

In this photo released by the German Catholic News Agency KNA and dated from July, 8, 1951, the Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, standing right, is seen with his family, father Josef, mother Maria and sister Maria, seated from right, and brother Georg following their ordination to the priesthood.

In this photo released by the German Catholic News Agency KNA and dated from summer 1952, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, center, is seen celebrating Mass in the mountains of Ruhpolding, southern Germany.

This is an undated file photo of then archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Joseph Ratzinger, the new archbishop of Munich and Freising, raises his arms to greet hundreds of believers at his arrival in the Bavarian capital in this May 23, 1977, photo.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger waves to the cheering crowd during his farewell walk in downtown Munich Feb. 28, 1982, before going to Rome to head the Vatican Congregation of Faith.

With the towers of Munich's cathedral in the background, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger raises his arms to bid farewell to Bavarian believers in downtown Munich Feb. 28, 1982. A service in the cathedral and a walk through the crowd marked the farewell of the cardinal who will head the Congregation of Faith in the Vatican.

German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, right, holds an unidentified document, as the mayor of the southern German town of Marktl, Hubert Gschwendtner, looks on July 13, 1997 in Marktl, Ratzinger's hometown. In background is an honorary citizen plaque at Ratzinger's birthplace.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany is seen in this June 26, 2000, photo.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then-Prefect of the Catholic Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, kneels in front of Pope John Paul II during the traditional exchange of Christmas greetings at the Vatican Dec. 22, 2003.

This photo, taken April 14, 2005, shows a painting of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the St Michael seminar near Traunstein, Germany. The artist is unknown.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, who became the new Pope at the Vatican Tuesday April 19, 2005, is seen in this Feb. 22, 2005, file photo with Pope John Paul II's book "Memory and Identity."

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, center, blesses the coffin containing the body of Pope John Paul II, during the funeral mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 8, 2005.

German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger leads a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 18, 2005, just before the procession of cardinals into the Sistine Chapel for the conclave to choose a new pope.

The latest book of German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger "Values in a Time of Upheaval" sits on a table in a bookstore in Berlin April 15, 2005.

The newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, waves to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Tuesday, April 19, 2005. Ratzinger is the 265th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful at the end of the Holy Thursday rite of the washing of feet, in St. John in Lateran Basilica in Rome, Thursday, March 20, 2008. The pope washed the feet of a dozen priests in a Holy Thursday ceremony to symbolize humility and urged people to set aside any rancor toward others.

Pope Benedict XVI prays in the San Bartolemeo Basilica during his visit at the church in Rome, Monday, April 7, 2008 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Comunita' di Sant'Egidio, a Rome-based lay Catholic organization.