Benedict XVI

Useful information for playing VATICAN The Board Game

Pope Benedict XVI, born April 16, 1927 as Joseph Alois Ratzinger in Bavaria, Germany, is the 265th reigning pope. He was elected on April 19, 2005 in a papal conclave over which he presided in his capacity as Dean of the College of Cardinals.

Before he ascended to the papacy, Benedict had been one of the most influential academic theologians in the church. Once an enthusiastic participant in the Second Vatican Council reforms, Ratzinger became increasingly conservative after experiencing the 1968 student protests at the University of Tübingen.

Pope Paul VI appointed Cardinal Ratzinger Archbishop of Munich, and John Paul II made him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) where he served for 24 years before becoming Pope. In 2000, the CDF declared that the church of Christ “continues to exist fully only in the Catholic Church.” As Pope, Benedict continues to emphasize the need for Europe to turn back to its fundamental Christian values and resist increasing secularization.

By playing VATICAN The Board Game, you can learn a great deal about the Vatican City State and the workings of the institutions of papal government situated within its territory.