Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, grew up near Salzburg in Traunstein and was a member of the Salzburg-based European Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1991. He became pope in 2005 and was the first modern pope to resign (2013), one of the most consequential theological figures of the 20th century.

Visited Salzburg in June 1998 and celebrated an open-air mass at Domplatz before an enormous congregation. The visit connected the ancient Catholic centre of Salzburg, built by its Prince-Archbishops, with the contemporary global Church. Later canonised (2014).