During his reign, Pope Benedict XVI made 30 pastoral visits within Italy and 25 foreign trips, visited 25 countries. His most visited countries (outside of Italy) were Spain and his native Germany with three visits each. With an average of three foreign journeys per year from 2006 to 2009, he was as active in visiting other countries as his predecessor, John Paul II, was at the same age from 1999 to 2002. Pope Benedict was more active since then, however, making five foreign journeys each in both 2010 and 2011, significantly more than the six total trips made by Pope John Paul II at the same age in 2003 and 2004. As of the 2012 apostolic journey to Mexico and Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI was older than Pope John Paul II was at the time of his death,Pope Paul VI was the first Pope to travel outside Europe, and Pope Benedict has now attained a greater age than either Paul VI or John Paul II, while continuing to travel outside Europe at ages they never reached. as well as being the oldest Pope to travel to Africa, Asia (including the Middle East), and Australia. Popes and Papacy, 2 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012. Popes and Papacy, 26 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.

Most of these trips involved the Pope giving speeches on issues that play an important role in the region that he visited, especially on education, contraceptives, abortion, and what it means to be Catholic.

Journeys outside Italy 2005

Germany (18–21 August 2005) The Pope arrived in Germany on August 18 to participate in the 20th World Youth Day in Cologne. There he met with President Horst Köhler, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Leader of the Opposition Angela Merkel and others, and visited the famous Cologne Cathedral. The Pope visited the synagogue of the Jewish community in Cologne, which is the oldest Jewish community in the world north of the Alps. Benedict and his immediate predecessor John Paul II are the only two popes since St. Peter known to have visited a synagogue. He also spoke with representatives of the Muslim and Protestant communities of Cologne. On 21 August, he led a Mass at Marienfeld. The trip was previously scheduled for his predecessor, John Paul II, before his death four months earlier.

2006

Poland (25–28 May 2006) The Pope began his visit just after 11 AM on 25 May, landing at the Okęcie Military Airport in Warsaw. Throughout his visit, he often spoke a few sentences of Polish, which he had learned phonetically. After a welcoming ceremony, Benedict rode in his popemobile to St. John's Cathedral, where he met and addressed a thousand clergymen. He also paid an official visit to the Presidential Palace and later that day attended a meeting of leaders of various religions. The Pope celebrated an open-air Mass on Piłsudski Square in Warsaw on 26 May, visited the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa and arrived in Kraków. On 27 May the pontiff went to Wadowice, the birthplace of his predecessor, the sanctuary in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki and the Wawel Cathedral and addressed young people gathered at Błonia park in Kraków. On the last day of his visit on Sunday 28 May, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at Błonia for about 900,000 pilgrims, and later that day prayed at the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Spain (8–9 July 2006) Pope Benedict visited Spain at the request of King Juan Carlos and the country's Catholic bishops, in particular Valencia, for the Fifth World Meeting of Families. The closing mass was held at the City of Arts and Sciences in the city. The Archbishop of Valencia, Agustín García-Gasco Vicente also presided in the service and made a major address to the Pope and the gathering crowds. Germany (9–14 September 2006) The Pope visited Munich, Altötting, Marktl am Inn, Regensburg and Freising, all in his home state Bavaria. After his arrival Benedict XVI was welcomed at Munich Airport by Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Horst Köhler. In the Popemobile he was driven through the city of Munich where he was the Archbishop from 1977 to 1982. He said a prayer on Marienplatz, the same ritual which he did before he was called to Rome by Pope John Paul II. More than half a million people joined the outdoor masses which were held in Munich and Regensburg. The Pope visited Marktl am Inn where he was born and baptized. He also spent one day with his elder brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger. They visited their parents' grave and spent the rest of the day at Benedict's former residence, a house still owned by the pope, in a suburb of Regensburg. Before the return he visited the old bishop's town of Freising where he celebrated a mass with the complete clergy of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising in the Freising Cathedral. Turkey (28 November – 1 December 2006)

Invited by Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople to Istanbul, the Pope visited Turkey. His visit to an overwhelmingly Muslim nation two months after his visit to Bavaria, Germany was initially overshadowed by the controversy about a lecture he had given at Regensburg. His visit was met by nationalist and Islamic protesters and was placed under unprecedented security measures.

Arriving on 28 November at Ankara's Esenboğa International Airport, the Pope was welcomed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was leaving for a NATO summit meeting. Later, Benedict visited the Atatürk mausoleum, met with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, held talks with Ali Bardakoğlu, President of the Religious Affairs, and received ambassadors at the Vatican Embassy in Ankara.

On 29 November 2006, the Pope visited the House of the Virgin Mary at Selçuk, where he conducted an open-air Mass.Pope Benedict XVI due in Turkey TNN News At Istanbul, he prayed with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, before holding private talks. Benedict has stated that a key goal of his papacy will be healing the long-lasting schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.

On 30 November 2006, Benedict's attendance at the Saint Andrew's Day's Divine Liturgy, the primary purpose of his long-planned journey, symbolized his seeking of reconciliation between the Western and Eastern rites of Christianity. Giving a message for the unity of the two Churches, both leaders signed a joint declaration. Next, the Pope visited Hagia Sophia, originally the greatest church of Orthodox Christianity subsequently converted into a mosque and a museum. He then visited the Blue Mosque.Pope visits, prays at Istanbul Mosque EWTN news November 30, 2006 The Pope then held talks with Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan of Constantinople and Patriarchal Vicar Mor Filiksinos Yusuf Çetin, heads of Turkey's Armenian and the Assyrian communities respectively."Pope Met with Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan" PanArmenian.Net December 1, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2010 Benedict also met with Ishak Haleva, Hakham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) of Turkey's Sephardic Jews.

On 1 December, the Pontiff wrapped up his trip by visiting the Roman Catholic Holy Spirit Cathedral. After releasing white doves symbolizing peace and revealing a statue of Pope Benedict XV, he celebrated Mass in the cathedral. In his farewell speech at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, the Pope said "a part of my heart remains in Istanbul".

2007

Brazil (9–13 May 2007)

In Brazil, the Pope visited the sanctuary of Aparecida and the city of São Paulo. He used his travel to Brazil to criticize Mexican lawmakers who legalized abortion. However, the Pope made sure that, although he agreed with Bishops who claimed that politicians in Mexico "excommunicated themselves", there would be no formal excommunication of those individuals. In Aparecida he addressed the Latin American Bishops' Conference. During his speech, the Pope condemned abortion and the use of contraceptives. He also condemned the negatives of capitalism and also Marxism for its destructive effects on economies, government, and religion. He also said that it is important to prevent Catholics from turning to Protestant religions, and to instead reinvigorate their connection to the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict also canonised Friar Antônio Galvão, a Franciscan who lived in the 18th century, at a festive Mass before hundreds of thousands of people in São Paulo. Austria (7–9 September 2007) On 7 September 2007, Pope Benedict arrived at Vienna International Airport at 11:15 AM, where he was greeted by Austria's President Heinz Fischer and Cardinal Archbishop Christoph Schönborn. The visit was labelled as a pilgrimage to Austria's national shrine at Mariazell Basilica. During his three-day visit, he also visited Heiligenkreuz AbbeyHeiligenkreuz webpage . Retrieved 26 March 2009. and joined Vienna's chief rabbi in a memorial to the 65,000 Viennese Jews who perished in Nazi death camps. As a pilgrim, this was his seventh foreign trip in two years.

2008

United States (15–20 April 2008)

The Pope visited the United States from 15–20 April 2008. His journey included meetings with then President George W. Bush, who gave him a small birthday celebration on the White House south lawn, an address to the United Nations General Assembly, Masses at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. and Yankee Stadium in New York City, and a visit to Ground Zero in New York, among other activities. Australia (13–21 July 2008) The Pope met with the young people of the world at World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney. He celebrated an open-air Closing Mass with the participants at Randwick Racecourse on July 20. To adjust for the time difference, Benedict XVI rested for three days in an undisclosed location in Australia before beginning official engagements. In Sydney's St. Mary's Cathedral, Pope Benedict XVI made a historic full apology for child sex abuse by court sentenced 107 predatory Catholic priests, inter alia, and clergymen in Australia, on 19 July 2008. Before a 3,400 audience, he called for compensation and demanded punishment for those guilty of the "evil": "Here I would like to pause to acknowledge the shame which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and religious in this country. I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I assure them that, as their pastor, I too share in their suffering." The Pope added: "Victims should receive compassion and care, and those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice. These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation. I ask all of you to support and assist your bishops, and to work together with them in combating this evil. It is an urgent priority to promote a safer and more wholesome environment, especially for young people." France (12–15 September 2008) Pope Benedict visited Paris, meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, before travelling to Lourdes in Southwest France to mark the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary there."Pope Benedict’s visit to France confirmed by the Vatican" Catholic News Agency 4 July 2008 Retrieved 26 January 2011 At an outdoor Paris Mass attended by 250,000 people, he condemned modern materialism - the world's love of power, possessions and money as a modern-day plague, comparing it to "paganism": "Has not our modern world created its own idols? Has it not imitated, perhaps inadvertently, the pagans of antiquity, by diverting man from his true end, from the joy of living eternally with God? This is a question that all people, if they are honest with themselves, cannot help but ask.""Pope drinks spring water at shrine" USA Today 15 September 2008 Retrieved 26 January 2011

2009 Cameroon and Angola (17–23 March 2009)