Pope Benedict XVI

Mary Nersessian, CTV.ca News

n a morning Mass in St. Peter's Basilica before the conclave began, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger urged his fellow cardinals to choose a pope who would defend traditional doctrine.

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger talks with Bavarian mountaineers in 1982. (AP Photo/Diether Endlicher)

It appears his wish came true.

As the 265th pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, is expected to continue his efforts to keep the Roman Catholic Church conservative and centralized.

During his first address as pope, he called himself "a simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord."

Joseph Ratzinger, was born in Marktl am Inn, Germany on April 16, 1927.

His father, a police officer, came from a traditional family of farmers from Lower Bavaria.

Growing up in Nazi Germany, Ratzinger was a member of the Hitler Youth. Although, in his memoirs he wrote that he was enrolled in the movement against his will when he was 14 in 1941.

He said he was soon released from the movement because he was studying to be a priest.

Ratzinger spent his adolescent years in Traunstein and was called into the auxiliary anti-aircraft service in the last months of the Second World War.

A year later, he was transferred and sent to the Austrian-Hungarian border to construct tank barriers.

But he deserted the German Army in May 1945 and returned to Traunstein, only to be sent to a PoW camp upon his return. After he was let go, he returned to his studies at the seminary.

Ratzinger studied philosophy and theology at the University of Munich and at the higher school in Freising from 1946 to 1951. He was ordained as a priest in 1951.

In 1953, he obtained a doctorate in theology with a thesis entitled "The People and House of God in St. Augustine's doctrine of the Church."

Four years later, he qualified as a university teacher and taught dogma and fundamental theology in several German cities.

His shift to the right is said to have been motivated by his distaste for the student revolutions of 1968, when he was attacked by left-wing students for being too conservative – despite his relatively progressive views at the time.

In 1969, he moved to the more conservative University of Regensburg where he became professor of dogmatic theology and of the history of dogma, and also vice president.

In March 1977, he was elected Archbishop of Munich and Freising. In June of 1977, at the age of 50, he was proclaimed Cardinal.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in Munich in 1982. (AP Photo/Diether Endlicher)

In 1986, Ratzinger visited Toronto, and told a crowd of about 6,000 that the Catholic Church must stand up against those who abuse their authority as teachers of church doctrine.

When asked if an "authentic" Catholic could consider abortion justified in certain cases, Ratzinger said that abortion is never rationalized.

Ratzinger was one of Pope John Paul's closest advisors, and carried out many of the pontiff's duties during his last days. He also delivered the homily at the funeral service for John Paul.

Ratzinger was also appointed dean of the College of Cardinals, and also the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Yet his success within the Vatican ranks has not been without controversy.

Father Michael Bechard of St. Peter's Seminary points out, that not all members of the Catholic Church will be quick to embrace the choice of Cardinal Ratzinger as the new pontiff.

"He's considered someone who has often taken a hard-line stance on moral issues and a lot of different doctrinal issues," Bechard told CTV.

He said the Ratzinger name is ill-received by the more liberal elements of the church.

As well, in 2000, Ratzinger alienated other Christian denominations by branding them as deficient.

Anglican, Lutheran and other Protestant churches, which had been in ecumenical dialogue with the Vatican, were dismayed by his comments, but Ratzinger is reported to have dismissed protests from Lutherans as "absurd."

Ratzinger is believed to be closely aligned with his predecessor's views. He condemned homosexuality and same-sex marriage in 1986, and denounced "radical feminism" in 2004.

It was this zeal in enforcing church orthodoxy that led some to wonder whether cardinals would be divided when it came time to vote for the next pope.

In spite of reports that there was a split between cardinals who wanted change, and those who didn't, the conservative Ratzinger was touted as a papal frontrunner in the days leading up to the conclave.

There were rumours that he had already locked up the majority of the 77 votes needed to choose a new pope as the cardinals prepared for the conclave.

Reaction to the choice of Ratzinger as the next pope has been mixed.

His supporters point out his leadership and his brilliance -- Ratzinger has written more than 40 books and speaks 10 languages.

However, his critics have accused him of keeping the Church in the Middle Ages and intervening in Vatican affairs. Some have pointed out that his intimidating reputation has earned him uncomplimentary monikers such as ‘The Enforcer’ or ‘God’s Rottweiler.’

Still others have blamed Ratzinger for playing a polarizing role within the Church by clamping down on dissent and punishing liberal thinkers.

Only time will tell what his papal legacy will be.

In the meantime, speculation over how long his papacy will last has already begun.

“My only concern is that he had very poor health in the early and mid-nineties, and so it's a wonder to me how he'll withstand the rigours of the office,” Father Thomas Lynch told CTV.