Benedict XVI returns to Rome after visiting a sick brother in Germany
Benedict XVI returns to Rome after visiting a sick brother in Germany
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI returned to Rome on Monday after a four-day trip to Germany to visit his sick brother.
The diocese of Regensburg reported on June 22 that 93-year-old Benedict XVI greeted his 96-year-old brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, who is in poor health, before leaving for Munich airport.
"It is perhaps the last time that the two brothers, Georg and Joseph Ratzinger, will see each other in this world," said the diocese of Regensburg in a previous statement.
Benedict XVI was accompanied on the journey to the airport by Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg. Before the pope emeritus boarded an Italian Air Force plane, he was welcomed by the Prime Minister of Bavaria Markus Söder. The Süddeutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper, quoted Söder saying that the meeting was a moment of "joy and melancholy".
Benedict XVI was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in the city of Marktl in Bavaria in 1927. His older brother Georg is his last member of the living family.
On his last full day in Bavaria, Benedict XVI offered Sunday mass with his brother in Luzengasse, Regensburg. Later he went to pray in the sanctuary of St. Wolfgang, the patron saint of the diocese of Regensburg.
Archbishop Nikola Eterović, the apostolic nuncio to Germany, traveled from Berlin to meet the pope emeritus in Regensburg over the weekend.
"It is an honor to welcome the pope emeritus again to Germany, even in this difficult family situation," said Eterović on June 21 after their meeting.
The nuncio said that his impression during the meeting with Benedetto was "that he feels good here in Regensburg".
The former pope arrived in Bavaria on Thursday 16 June. Immediately after his arrival, Benedetto went to visit his brother, according to reports from the diocese. The brothers celebrated Mass together in the house of Regensburg and the pope emeritus then went to the diocesan seminary, where he remained during the visit. In the evening, he returned to see his brother again.
On Friday, the two celebrated Mass for the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, according to a statement.
On Saturday the former pope visited the residence in Pentling, just outside of Regensburg, where he lived as a professor from 1970 to 1977.
His last visit to the house was during his pastoral trip to Bavaria in 2006.
The diocese said that Benedict XVI then stopped at the Ziegetsdorf cemetery to spend time in prayer at the graves of his parents and his sister.
Christian Schaller, deputy director of the Pope Benedict XVI Institute, told the diocese of Regensburg that during the visit of the pope emeritus to his former home "the memories woke up".
"It was a journey back in time," he said.
Benedict stayed in his Pentling house and garden for about 45 minutes, and was reportedly moved by old family portraits.
During his visit to the cemetery, a Our Father and an Ave Maria were prayed.
"I have the impression that the visit is a source of strength for both brothers," said Schaller.
According to the diocese of Regensburg, “Benedict XVI is traveling in the company of his secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, his doctor, his nurse and a religious sister. The pope emeritus made the decision to go to his brother in Regensburg in a short time, after consulting with Pope Francis ".
Mgr Georg Ratzinger is a former choir master of the Regensburger Domspatzen, the choir of the Regensburg cathedral.
On June 29, 2011, he celebrated his 60th anniversary as a priest in Rome with his brother. Both men were ordained priests in 1951.