Benedict XV led the Catholic Church during the First World War, a conflict he did everything in his power to stop. In August 1917 Benedict XVI wrote the contending parties to define the war as an ...

He chose his papal name partly in homage to Pope Benedict XV, but also to honor the sixth-century St. Benedict of Norcia, who founded a monastic movement that would become the bedrock of European ...

Benedict, who was elected in 2005, was chosen because he wanted to pay homage to Benedict XV, who led the Catholic Church during World War I and dedicated himself to healing the rifts of war.

Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, died on December 31 at the age of 95, according to the Vatican. No cause of death was released. Ratzinger’s life was remarkable not just because he was ...

Pope Francis praised Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s “acute and gentle thought” during a Wednesday general audience in the Vatican.

His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, chose his papal name to show his commitment to peace and reconciliation by honoring St. Benedict and Pope Benedict XV, who was head of the church during World ...