Andorra's coinage authority issued this piece during the pontificate of Benedict XVI, whose election in April 2005 marked the first German pope since Adrian VI — a Dutchman elected in 1522. Andorra's unique co-princeship, jointly held by the Bishop of Urgell and the French head of state, gives the Catholic Church a direct constitutional role in the territory, making papal portraiture on Andorran coinage a matter of state protocol rather than mere commemoration.
Andorra's coinage authority issued this piece during the pontificate of Benedict XVI, whose election in April 2005 marked the first German pope since Adrian VI — a Dutchman elected in 1522. Andorra's unique co-princeship, jointly held by the Bishop of Urgell and the French head of state, gives the Catholic Church a direct constitutional role in the territory, making papal portraiture on Andorran coinage a matter of state protocol rather than mere commemoration.