Vatican City ? Pope Benedict gave thanks for his 80 years of life dedicated to the church with a special Sunday Mass, a celebration tinged with nostalgia that drew a huge crowd to St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican had invited rank-and-file faithful to the late-morning Mass on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica to help the pontiff celebrate both his 80th birthday today and the anniversary of his April 19, 2005, election to the pontificate.

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 pilgrims from Bavaria attended the Mass, and German echoed in the ancient alleys leading to the Vatican as groups streamed to the square. Some of his fellow countrymen and women wore traditional dress, including feather-trimmed hats; others waved German flags.

Benedict told the crowd they were joining him in a reflection of his “not brief” life.

Acknowledging their participation, the pope said he was extending, “my most sincere thanks, from the depth of my heart, to the entire church, which, like a true family, especially in these days, surrounds me with its affection.”