Pope Benedict XVI Goes Viral For ‘Evil Twink” Photo From His Youth
Image: Image: X/Wikipedia
Pope Benedict XVI has gone viral for a very surprising reason this week after a picture from his youth has emerged.
The former pope, who died four years ago, has found new life online thanks to the gay community.
A digitally retouched image of the much younger pope, then Joseph Ratzinger, has drawn mixed reactions online as it quickly amassed millions of views this week.
Pope Benedict XVI ‘Evil Twink” image goes viral
Pope Benedict XVI was 95 years old when he passed away in 2022, and it’s safe to say he never expected to be making waves all these years after.
It’s difficult to trace exactly where all the fuss started, but at some point this week, an image of the late Pope, taken in the 1950’s was dropped online, gaining over three million views in just one week.
El ANTES y DESPUÉS del Papa Benedicto XVI se viraliza en las redes sociales. pic.twitter.com/O1D8OOPMtG
— Indie 505 (@Indie5051) August 18, 2026
Despite some initial reactions about the image being AI generated, many sources verify it is a legitimate image of the Pope from when he was aged around 18 years old, digitally enhanced to add colour.
But that wasn’t the detail catching everyone’s attention, with the gays (and everyone else) swiftly chiming in with their two cents.
Many were quick to label him the “Twink Pope” as the image continued to go viral.
“God is going to punish me, but by God, he was so handsome when he was young” one commented on the viral photo.
Another hilariously labelled him “Benedictwink.”
Benedictwink https://t.co/YcCu9J5iip
— Timothée de Rauglaudre 🌿 (@TimdeRauglaudre) August 19, 2026
However, some of the most viral responses were those who labelled the late pope an “evil twink” with one commenter writing “I can spot an evil twink when I see one.”
Puedo reconocer a un twink malvado cuando lo veo. https://t.co/qDcs7wb9ns
— Mia Skylar (@MiaSkylar) August 18, 2026
The comments and the jokes continued to pour in online, some too funy and far too inappropriate to publish as other images of the Pope from his youth also surfaced online.
Pope Benedict XVI had an unpopular history with the LGBTQIA+ community, famously deriding same-sex marriage as “ruinous” to society.
In an end-of-year speech he said gay marriage was a threat to human identity and decried laws recognising de facto couples.
Pope Benedict XVI died on December 31, 2022, aged 95.
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