Dean of the College of Cardinals in the context of "Suburbicarian diocese"

Pope Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 2005 until his resignation in 2013. Following his resignation, he chose to be known as "pope emeritus", a title he held until his death on 31 December 2022.

Ordained as a priest in 1951 in his native Bavaria, Ratzinger embarked on an academic career and established himself as a highly regarded theologian by the late 1950s. He was appointed a full professor in 1958 when aged 31. After a long career as a professor of theology at several German universities, he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising and created a cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1977, an unusual promotion for someone with little pastoral experience. In 1981, he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most important dicasteries of the Roman Curia. In 2002, he also became Dean of the College of Cardinals. Before becoming pope, he had been "a major figure on the Vatican stage for a quarter of a century"; he had had an influence "second to none when it came to setting church priorities and directions" as one of John Paul II's closest confidants. Following the death of John Paul II on 2 April 2005, a conclave elected Ratzinger as his successor on 19 April; he chose Benedict XVI as his papal name in honour of Benedict XV and Benedict of Nursia.

The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent bishop is Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. For centuries, its bishop has been the dean of the College of Cardinals. Its Cathedral is Basilica di Sant'Aurea.

From 1105 to 1914, the diocese was merged with the Suburbicarian Diocese of Velletri. In 1962, the Diocese of Ostia was brought under the direct administration of the Diocese of Rome. Its territory is restricted to the single parish of Santa Aurea.

On 2 April 2005, at 21:37 CEST (UTC+2), Pope John Paul II died at the age of 84 in his private apartment at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. His funeral, held on 8 April, was one of the largest gatherings of Christianity's faithful in history, with approximately four million mourners converging on Rome. The ceremonies followed the revised papal funerary rites that John Paul II himself had established in 1996 through the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, which governed both the selection of his successor and the rituals surrounding his death and burial.

The funeral rites included a lying in state at St. Peter's Basilica, a Mass of Repose, and a Requiem Mass celebrated by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then Dean of the College of Cardinals. John Paul II's burial was conducted according to his wishes for simplicity, and he was interred beneath St. Peter's Basilica. Dignitaries and religious leaders were present from around the world, including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I—the first such attendance since the East–West Schism. Many countries declared periods of national mourning, and prayers were offered worldwide for the late pope. The funeral was followed by the Novendiales, nine days of official mourning and liturgical observances.

A conclave was held on 18 and 19 April 2005 to elect a new pope to succeed John Paul II, who had died on 2 April 2005. Of the 117 eligible cardinal electors, all but two attended. On the fourth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the dean of the College of Cardinals and prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith . After accepting his election, he took the name Benedict XVI. Ratzinger was the first cardinal from the Roman Curia to become pope since Pius XII in 1939.

Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2020. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001 and served as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 2000 to 2010. As the most senior cardinal-bishop in attendance, he chaired the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis.