Habemus papam!

"We have a Pope!" -- or something close to that.



From Hitler Youth as a teenager to the papal throne...who'da thunk it!?!? Cardinal Ratzinger, served as a Hitler Youth ( mandatory of all German boys of age in 1941), but was released when he began training for the priesthood. In 1943, he was drafted into the army and served as an anti-aircraft gunner. In 1944, he deserted and was held by American troops as a prisoner of war. Pretty amazing story...

So what's in a name? It's all about ritual and tradition and the first thing that Cardinal Ratzinger had to do, was chose his name: Benedict XVI. It wasn't until 996 AD that it became a tradition when Bruno, the first Germanic pope, chose his name to be Gregory V. Prior to that, most of the priests elected to the papacy kept their original name -- Adeodatus, Formosus, Hyginus and Anastasius Bibliothecarius.

Benedict, which comes from the Latin for “blessing,” is one of a number of papal names of holy origin, and many believe the choice of name clearly signifies the role that the pope wishes to take in the papacy.