Pope Benedict rejects the inheritance of his late brother

Retired Pope Benedict XVI rejected the legacy of his brother Georg, who died in July, the German Catholic news agency KNA reported.

For this reason "Georg Ratzinger's patrimony goes to the Holy See," Johannes Hofmann, dean of St. Johann Collegiate Church, told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. This is stated in the postscript of Msgr. Ratzinger's testament, he said.

The house in Regensburg, Germany, where Msgr. Ratzinger lived belongs to St. Johann's, the report said. The Monsignor's estate consists mainly of compositions, scores from the Regensburg Domspatzen choir, a small library and family photos.

Bild am Sonntag anonymously quoted a retired confidant of Pope Benedict saying that "he will certainly receive one or two more memories". However, he carried the memories of his brother "in his heart", so the 93-year-old "no longer needs to hoard material things".

Bishop Ratzinger, 96, died in Regensburg on 1 July. The retired pope visited his older brother in mid-June after his health had deteriorated.

Bishop Ratzinger was Pope Benedict's last retired close relative. He conducted the Regensburg Domspatzen choir from 1964 to 1994