Benedict XVI mostly maintained a low profile over the past decade, though some of his occasional recent writings have stirred controversy. ROME—In his seven-decade career as a scholar and church leader, the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote more than 60 books and numerous papal documents, including three encyclicals. An official adviser at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the pivotal event in the Roman Catholic Church during his lifetime, Joseph Ratzinger was a major figure in the theological debates that followed Vatican II. He also had a large nonacademic following, largely of conservative Catholics who increasingly looked to him for guidance and reassurance in the turbulent post-conciliar period. Even after his election as pope, he continued his scholarship, writing a three-volume study, “Jesus of Nazareth,” which became a bestseller.

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