Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his 80th birthday on Monday with a concert and a lunch he hosted for the Catholic church's cardinals.

He met with well-wishers in the morning, but true to his earlier warnings, donated all the gifts received.

Joseph Ratzinger, who would take the name of Benedict as pontiff, was born April 16, 1927, in Marktl Am Inn, a riverside town in the Bavaria region of Germany.

Thousands of Bavarians made the pilgrimage to attend his birthday mass.

Benedict XVI succeeded John Paul II two years ago this week, but surprised many observers with his approach, much more conciliatory than his activity as a cardinal seemed to suggest.

Dubbed "the Pope's enforcer" during the pontificate of John Paul II, but he has made overtures both to the church's conservatives and progressives.

However, he is as staunch a supporter of traditional Christian values as expected, and has taken a harder line in relations with other religions than his predecessor.

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