Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now to be known as Pope Benedict XVI, is the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church - and of 1.1 billion faithful around the globe.

The charismatic John Paul II, who died on Apr. 2, will be a tough act to follow, though the 78-year-old Ratzinger was a close friend and confidant of his predecessor and is seen as a symbol of continuity in terms of their shared conservative views.

As head for more than two decades of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was once the Holy Office of the Inquisition, Ratzinger silenced dissidents, such as clergy who preached Liberation Theology, and drafted some of the more right-wing positions of John Paul's papacy, condemning contraceptive methods, the recognition of homosexual rights and the ordination of women as priests.