A "modest" 90th birthday party is being planned for Benedict XVI, who stunned the Catholic Church by resigning as pope in 2013.
His aide, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, says Benedict's birthday, which falls on Easter Sunday this year, will be celebrated on Monday in Bavarian style in keeping with the emeritus pontiff's roots.
Gaenswein told the Catholic news agency S.I.R. on Saturday there'll be a "modest party" in keeping with his strength. He noted that Benedict is very lucid and in good humor. Benedict is frail, though he still takes his daily stroll using a walker.
Joseph Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927 in southern Germany. Trained as a theologian, he was a long-time Vatican official in charge of ensuring doctrinal orthodoxy when elected pontiff in 2005.