Journalism, which often describes itself as “the first rough draft of history,” had a rough time with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died on New Year’s Eve at age 95.

It was easy enough to feature the two best-known features of his long life and priestly tenure in the Roman Catholic Church: Born and raised in Bavaria, the onetime Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the first German pontiff since 1057 and the first pope to resign in five centuries. The first of these factoids was interesting in its own way but hardly surprising: Catholics are a minority in Germany, the birthplace of the Reformation. The second was controversial at the time but was probably inevitable, given increasing human longevity and the physical and mental demands of the position. Elected pope at the age of 78, Benedict was in his 86th year when, citing ill health and increasing fragility, he stepped down.