SAY A PRAYER FOR THE BROTHERS RATZINGER
Top Photo: Benedict XVI and his brother in the garden of Joseph's Pentling home during the Pope's visit to Bavaria in 2010. Bottom: B16 visiting Georg when he was hospitalized in December 2005 at Rome's Gemelli Hospital for a pacemaker problem during his first Christmas
holiday visit to his brother in the latter's first year as Pope.
POPE EMERITUS IN REGENSBURG
Benedict XVI celebrates Mass
with ailing brother today,
Feast of the Sacred Heart,
as he did yesterday on arrival
REGENSBURG, June 19, 2020 (CNA)- Pope emeritus Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass with his ailing brother on the feast of the Sacred Heart during his first full day in Germany Friday.
A June 19 statement from the Diocese of Regensburg said that after Benedict XVI arrived from Rome at noon on Thursday he immediately visited his 96-year-old brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger.
The brothers celebrated Mass together at Mons. Georg's house in Regensburg, and the pope emeritus then traveled to the diocesan seminary in the afternoon to rest. In the evening, he returned to see his brother.
The diocese said: “For the first morning in his old homeland, an authentic Bavarian breakfast awaited the pope emeritus in the seminary. There were pretzels, which Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who accompanied him, was also pleased about.”
“In the course of the morning the two brothers will celebrate together a High Mass for today’s Feast of the Sacred Heart.”
News of Benedict XVI’s visit broke on the morning of June 18. It is his first trip outside Italy since he stood down as pope in 2013.
In a statement Thursday, Regensburg diocese said: “Pope emeritus Benedict XVI flew this morning from Rome to Bavaria to be at the side of his seriously ill 96-year-old brother. It is perhaps the last time that the two brothers, Georg and Joseph Ratzinger, will see each other in this world.”
The diocese asked the public to respect the two brothers' privacy during the visit.
“All people who wish to express their sympathy are invited to say a silent prayer for the two brothers,” it said.
The statement continued: “The 93-year-old pope emeritus landed in Munich on Thursday, June 18, at about 11:45 a.m. There Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer welcomed him warmly and accompanied him on the journey to Regensburg. The pope emeritus is staying in the seminary of the Diocese of Regensburg. The date of his return journey is not yet fixed.”
“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 travel to his brother in Regensburg at short notice, after consulting with Pope Francis.”
Msgr. Georg Ratzinger is a former choir master of the Regensburger Domspatzen, the cathedral choir of Regensburg.
On June 29, 2011, he celebrated his 60th anniversary as a priest in Rome together with his brother. Both men were ordained priests in 1951.
The UK's Daily Mail has provided some photos of Benedict XVI's arrival in Regensburg yesterday:
Top photos show the wheelchair-bound Emeritus being boarded into a vehicle and then waving to onlookers from the car. Bottom photo shows the street leading to Georg Ratzinger's house cordoned off, and German army troops assigned to the Emeritus's security.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/06/2020 19:01]