On the occasion of Pope Benedict XVI's 85th birthday, the 'Deutschland pro Papa' (Germany for the Pope) initiative will launch "85 Balloons for Benedict - Sign of Hope". Under the patronage of the Pope's brother, former Regensburg Domkapellmeister, Mons. Georg Ratzinger, 85 huge yellow-and-white balloons will be released from the Papsthuegel {Pope's hill) in Regensburg on Sunday, April 15, at noon. [The Papsthuegel is the artificial hill built on Islinger field outside Regensburg in September 2006 as a setting for the altar-stage used for the Papal Mass during the Pope's apostolic visit to Bavaria.] The Holy Father has visited his homeland three times since he became Pope. His last visit in September 2011 was under the motto "Where God is, there the future is". The Pope called anew for New Evangelization of a world which is no longer God-friendly, if not outright Godless. 'Deutschland pro Papa' (DpP) is responding to his call. For the April 15 event, each birhtday balloon will carry a brief letter of Christian encouragement, with sunflower seeds to represent hope and growth - hope for a new life, that is firmly rooted in the faith, in which it will grow. The balloons will carry these signs of hope, and everyone who finds a balloon after it lands is asked to plant the seeds. Even if the finder is not religious, a seed is always a sign of hope. Finders are then requested to send DpP pictures of the sunflowers they have grown to be published on the DpP website. The first 85 persons who arrive at the Papsthuegel on April 15 will each get a balloon to release when the clock strikes 12. Afterwards, the assembly will pray the Regina caeli. Let us carry together, along with the Holy Father, the hope of the Good News of Jesus, through symbolic sunflowers throughout the world as a sign of joy and confidence in a better peaceful future. For the Deutschland pro Papa Initiative: Sabine Benedikta Beschmann First Chairman