Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, of Germany, has been named to lead the Roman Catholic Church as Pope Benedict XVI.

Ratzinger is a rigorously conservative guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy.

He is the 265th pope of the Catholic Church and the first from Germany since the 11th century.

Opinion about him remains deeply divided in Germany, a sharp contrast to John Paul, who was revered in his native Poland.

Ratzinger has clashed with prominent theologians at home, most notably the liberal Hans Kueng, an early sponsor.

Ratzinger, in his autobiography, sensed he was out of step with his fellow Germans as early as the 1960s.

Ratzinger left his home of Tuebingen during student protests in the late 1960s and moved to the more conservative University of Regensburg in his birthplace of Bavaria.

Ratzinger was born in Marktl Am Inn, but his father, a policeman, moved frequently and the family left when he was 2.

He has an older brother, Georg - former director of the renowned Regensburger Domspatzen boys choir.

Ratzinger is an accomplished pianist who loves Mozart.

Ratzinger went through the harrowing years of Nazi rule. He was drafted as an assistant to a Nazi anti-aircraft unit, and also sent to the Austrian-Hungarian border to construct tank barriers. He deserted the Germany army in May 1945.

U.S. soldiers took him prisoner and held him in a POW camp for several weeks. Upon his release, he re-entered the seminary.

Ratzinger was ordained in 1951.

In 1977, he was appointed bishop of Munich.

Pope John Paul II named him leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981.

Ratzinger speaks several languages, among them Italian and English, as well as his native language German.

Video

Background: Joseph Ratzinger

Before the conclave began, Ratzinger tried to set a tone of urgency, warning cardinals, bishops and others gathered in St. Peter's Basilica for a Mass that the church must stay true to itself.

"We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires," said Ratzinger, 78, who has been the Vatican's chief overseer of doctrine since 1981.

Choosing A New Pope: Basics

The new pope is chosen by cardinals who are 80 years old or younger.

They vote in rounds. Initially it takes two-thirds of votes to become pope.

After a number of rounds, it takes a simple majority. (See below).

The pope may be any baptized Roman Catholic male.

But it has been a cardinal since 1378.

When Did They Vote?

On April 18, the eligible cardinals began to meet in conclave.

Their day started with a 10 a.m. Mass (4 a.m. Eastern).

In the first afternoon, the conclave took the first vote. Black smoke signaled no choice had been made.

The cardinals voted twice more. The pope was elected on the third ballot.

If they hadn't elected anyone on the first nine ballots, they had planned to take a day off to discuss the matter.

Who Voted?

A new pope is elected by the College of Cardinals.

Cardinals are next-highest ranking members of the church after the pope.

When choosing the pope, they meet in what's called a conclave.

Only cardinals who are under 80 years old can vote or even enter the conclave.

There can be only 120 such cardinals at any one time.

The voting is done in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.

Cardinals vote by silent ballot.

Who Are The Electors

There are 117 eligible electors.

Two didn't participate because of poor health.

All but three had been appointed by John Paul II.

The average age of the electors is 71.7.

About 49.2 percent are from Europe. Sixteen percent of all electors are from Italy.

The Third World has 37.8 percent. (Note: this overlaps with other categories).

Latin America has 18.5 percent.

North America (US & Canada) has 11 percent.

Africa has 10 percent.

Asia has 9 percent.

The United States has 11 electors or 9.2 percent. That's the second highest for any country, following Italy.

Rituals Of Voting

During the conclave, cardinals had no contact with the outside world.

That meant no phone calls, newspapers, letters, e-mail or other communication.

Each voting cardinal filled out a paper ballot that reads "Eligo in suumum pontificem" or "I elect as supreme Pontiff...".

They wrote down their choice, folded the ballot and took it to the altar in the Sistine Chapel.

Each cardinal held up the ballot high and then put it into a chalice.

The ballots were burned after they were counted.

If a new pope is selected, they are burned to give off white smoke to let crowds know.

If there is no decision, the ballots are burned to give off black smoke.

The Announcement

Comes from the dean of the College of Cardinals.

He steps onto the main balcony of the Vatican and declares to the World: "Habemus Papam!" "We have a Pope!"

This was one of the fastest elections in the past century: Pope Pius XII was elected in 1939 in three ballots on one day, while Pope John Paul II was elected in 1978 in four ballots in one day.

Who Else Was Considered?

Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Austria

Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Italy.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, of Nigeria. Based at Vatican, key figure arranging interfaith dialogue among Catholics, Muslims and Hindus.

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina. Praised for humility, is advocate for poor and conservative on doctrinal issues.

Cardinal Claudio Hummes of Brazil. Seen as progressive on social issues and conservative on doctrine.

Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico. Reputation as strict conservative in doctrine but outspoken against corruption, fraud and poverty.

Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras. Multilingual, campaigned against corruption and foreign debt. Considered more liberal than other Latin American cardinals.