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80th Birthday of Pope Benedict XVI 
Stamps and Labels (Scott 1347-1349, 2007)
 
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90th Birthday of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 
Scott 1650 (2017)</center>
 		
April 16 is the anniversary of the birth of Josef Aloisus Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict has the unique distinction of having his birthday celebrated twice on the stamps of Vatican City. Following the tradition started with the 80th birthday of Pope John XXIII, Pope Benedict’s 80th birthday was remembered in 2007 with a set of three stamps, with labels. Following his resignation/retirement as pope in 2013, he was subsequently honored in 2017 with a stamp for his 90th birthday. The birthday stamps are all presented at the top of this article, and their minisheets are shown at the bottom of the page.
 
Josef Ratzinger was born in 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, then part of Germany’s Weimar Republic. He was ordained a priest in 1951 and would go on to become perhaps the greatest Roman Catholic theologian of the 20th century. He published numerous books, such as a multi-volume study of Jesus Christ, as well as other theological works. He would serve as a “peritus” (“expert advisor”) to Cardinal Frings of Cologne during Vatican II. Pope Paul VI appointed him Bishop of Munich and Freising as well as Cardinal in 1977. In 1981, St. John Paul II appointed Ratzinger as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and in 2002 he was appointed Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was a close collaborator with St. John Paul II for over two decades.
 
Following the death of Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected pope and took the name Benedict XVI in 2005 (taking that name in honor of both Saint Benedict and Pope Benedict XV). He served until 2013 when he abdicated his position, stating that his physical condition prevented him from fulfilling the demands of his office. He would serve as “pope emeritus” for nine years, until his death on December 31, 2022.
 
With the anniversary of his 100th birthday approaching in 2027, the Vatican’s Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation has begun preparations for events to remember the late pontiff. An “International Committee for the Centenary Celebrations” has been established, and events have already been scheduled around the world. Check out the link to the Aleteia article in the References for additional details.
 
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<img height='325px' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1349M.jpg' > 
80th Birthday of Pope Benedict XVI 
Minisheets (Scott 1347M-1349M, 2007)
 
<img height='325px' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1650M.jpg' > 
90th Birthday of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 
Minisheet (Scott 1650M, 2017)</center>
 
REFERENCES: 
<li>Wikipedia, <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI'>Pope Benedict XVI</a> 
<li>Kathleen Harttrup, Aleteia.org, April 14, 2026, <a href=' https://aleteia.org/2026/04/14/vatican-will-mark-benedict-xvis-100th-birthday-in-2027/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendgrid&utm_campaign=EM-EN-Newsletter-Daily-&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_term=20260415'>Vatican will mark Benedict XVI’s 100th birthday in 2027</a> 
<li>Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search

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