April 16, 1927: Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger is born in Marktl am Inn,
Bavaria, Germany. His father, a civil servant, works for the Bavarian state
police force. Ratzinger is the youngest of three children. The young boy’s
religious ambitions reveal themselves early. Aged 5, he is excited by a
visit by the Archbishop of Munich and announces that he wishes to become a
Cardinal.

1939: Joseph Ratzinger enters a minor seminary in Traunstein, Bavaria.

1941: On his 14th birthday, Joseph Ratzinger joins the Hitler Youth.
Membership of the Nazi youth group is a legal requirement at the time, and
his brother