The funeral of Georg Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI’s elder brother, who was Director of Music and Master of the famous Domspatzen boys’ choir in Regensburg for 30 years, was held in Regensburg on 8 July.
Two hundred and 20 members of the Domspatzen choir bade farewell to their former choir master by singing the Vespers for the Dead in Regensburg Cathedral on Sunday afternoon, 5 July. Only former members of the choir were allowed in the cathedral. Seats were reserved according to the principle of first come first served. The choir members did not wear masks, but sat two metres apart. The vesper was livestreamed.
The last message of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to his brother Georg was read out at the Requiem.
“Thank you, dear Georg, and may God reward you for all you did for me, all you gave me and all you suffered for my sake,” the Pope emeritus wrote. The message was read out by Benedict’s private secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who several times had to struggle to retain his composure.
In the message Benedict, 93, explained what made him suddenly decide to visit his brother in Regensburg on 18 June. “He [Georg] did not ask me to visit him, but I felt the hour had come to go and see him for the last time. I am deeply grateful to the dear Lord for sending me this inner sign.”
And when he left Regensburg four days later both of them had known “that it was a final last farewell in this world. But we also knew that the dear Lord, who had made it possible for us to be together in this world, also reigns in the next world and will allow us to be together again there.”
Benedict also wrote a long letter to Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg, who celebrated the Requiem, thanking him for all he had done for his brother. He added that people from many countries had written to him in a way which touched his heart. Hearts spoke to each other beyond words on paper, he recalled, quoting Cardinal Newman: “Cor ad cor loquitor” – “heart speaks to heart.”
During the service, a portrait of Georg was placed next to the altar and the coffin, which was adorned with yellow and white carnations. To the right of the portrait incense burned in a bowl.
Georg, who was 96, was Director of Music and Master of the famous Domspatzen boys’ choir in Regensburg for 30 years. Two hundred and twenty members of the Domspatzen choir bade farewell to their former choir master by singing the Vesper for the Dead in Regensburg Cathedral on Sunday afternoon, 5 July. Only former members of the choir were allowed in the cathedral. Seats were reserved according to the principle of first come first served. The choir members did not wear masks, but sat 2 metres apart for the livestreamed service.
A Rosary for the Dead was said in the cathedral for Georg at 7pm on Monday, 6 July, while from 10am to 6pm on Tuesday, 7 July, his body was laid out in Sankt Johann (St John’s) church in Regensburg.
Georg Ratzinger was not buried in the Ratzinger family grave at Pentling where his parents and sister are buried. After the Requiem, the mourners proceeded to the Lower Catholic Graveyard in Regensburg where Georg was buried in a grave endowed by the Domspatzen Foundation.
Former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller was among those attending the funeral.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich-Freising and former president of the German bishops' conference also attended. Already a week earlier, as soon as he was informed of Ratzinger's death, Marx paid tribute to Georg. “As archbishop of his native diocese, I feel very close to the deceased and his brother,” he declared. He recalled that Georg and Joseph Ratzinger had been ordained together in Freising Cathedral in 1951. “At the moment, I feel particularly close to emeritus Pope Benedict who has lost his brother. With his (recent) visit to Regensburg, he set a sign of true Christian charity.”
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, 93, saw his brother for the last time when he visited Regensburg last month. He returned to the Vatican on 22 June after a five-day visit.
Loading ...
