Georg Ratzinger
Encyclopedia
Georg Ratzinger, PA
Protonotary apostolic
In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside of Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pope has conferred this title and its special privileges.-History:In later antiquity there were in...

 (born 15 January 1924 in Pleiskirchen
Pleiskirchen
Peiskirchen is a municipality in the district of Altötting in Bavaria in Germany....

) is a German Catholic priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....

 and musician, known for his work as the conductor of the Regensburger Domspatzen
Regensburger Domspatzen
The Regensburger Domspatzen is the official choir for the liturgical music at St Peter's Cathedral in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany...

, the cathedral choir of Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...

, Germany. He is the elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

. His grand uncle was German politician Georg Ratzinger
Georg Ratzinger (politician)
Georg Ratzinger was a German Catholic priest, political economist, social reformer, author and politician...

.

Early life and military service

Ratzinger was born in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

 to Joseph Ratzinger
Joseph Ratzinger, Sr.
Joseph Ratzinger, Sr. was a German civil servant, policeman, and the father of Pope Benedict XVI , and Georg Ratzinger; he was also a nephew of the German politician Georg Ratzinger....

, a police officer, and Maria Ratzinger, née Peintner. He had a younger brother, Joseph
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

, who later became Pope Benedict XVI, and a sister, Maria. Early in his life he showed musical talent, playing the church organ already at the age of 11. In 1935 he entered the minor seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 in Traunstein
Traunstein
Traunstein is a town in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, Germany, and is the administrative center of a district by the same name. It is situated at the heart of a region called Chiemgau, approximately 11 km east of Lake Chiemsee between Munich and Salzburg, 15 km north of the Alps, and...

 and had professional musical instruction there. In 1941 he encountered for the first time the choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 of the Regensburger Domspatzen
Regensburger Domspatzen
The Regensburger Domspatzen is the official choir for the liturgical music at St Peter's Cathedral in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany...

, which he would later direct, when they performed in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Mozart's death.

In summer 1942 Georg Ratzinger was drafted to the Reichsarbeitsdienst
Reichsarbeitsdienst
The Reichsarbeitsdienst was an institution established by Nazi Germany as an agency to reduce unemployment, similar to the relief programs in other countries. During the Second World War it was an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht.The RAD was formed during July 1934 as...

, and the same autumn to the German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

. In 1944 he was wounded in battle in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. At the end of World War II, he was a POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 of the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 in the vicinity of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, but was released, and arrived at home in July 1945.

Education and ordination

In January 1946, he and his brother Joseph (later Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

) entered the seminary of the archdiocese of Munich and Freising to study for the priesthood. At the same time he pursued his musical studies.

Georg and Joseph were ordained priests in 1951 by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber. Afterwards, Georg studied Church music in Munich, while serving in different priestly functions for the diocese.

Domspatzen directorship

He completed his studies in 1957 and became chorus director in his home parish in Traunstein. In February 1964 he was made musical director, Domkapellmeister, at St. Peters Cathedral in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...

, thereby becoming the chorus master of the Cathedral Choir, the Regensburger Domspatzen.

As director of this world-renowned boys' and men's choir, Ratzinger oversaw the recording of numerous pieces (e.g. J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio, J.S. Bach: Motets, H. Schütz: Psalms of David), concert tours (among others to the U.S., Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

, Canada, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Japan, Ireland, Poland, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, and the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...

; and a tour of Germany every year), and the liturgical activities of the choir.

In 1976 the choir celebrated its 1,000th anniversary.

In 1977 Ratzinger conducted the Domspatzen at his brother Joseph's consecration as Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 of Munich and Freising. They sang in honor of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

 at her state visit in 1978, and at Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

's visit to Munich in 1980; they also gave a concert for the state guests at the NATO summit in 1982 under the auspices of then German president
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...

 Karl Carstens
Karl Carstens
Karl Carstens was a German politician. He served as President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1979 to 1984.-Biography:...

.

In 2010 Ratzinger indicated he would be prepared to testify to aid investigations into claims of abuse at the Regensburger Domspatzen choir in Germany.

The Regensburg Diocese said that a former singer came forward with allegations of sexual abuse in the early 1960s, predating Ratzinger's tenure from 1964–1994. The German newsweekly Der Spiegel has reported that therapists in the region are treating several alleged victims from the choir.

Allegations of sexual and physical abuse under his directorship

A man who lived in the choir-linked boarding school until 1967 has contended that "a sophisticated system of sadistic punishments in connection with sexual lust" had been installed there. Der Spiegel quoted the man, a composer Franz Wittenbrink, as saying it would be inexplicable that the pope's brother didn't know anything about it. Ratzinger has admitted slapping pupils in the face. He commented: "At the start, I also slapped people in the face, but I always had a bad conscience". He claims to have been relieved when corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...

 was forbidden in 1980. Ratzinger has denied any knowledge of sexual abuse. A Vatican spokesperson stated that the allegations are a campaign allegedly aimed against the pope and the Roman Catholic Church.

Later life

Msgr. Ratzinger retired from his position as director of the choir in 1994 and has been a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 in Regensburg since 25 January 2009.

In 2005, during a visit to his brother in Rome, symptoms of heart failure and arrhythmia led to a brief admission at the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic
Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic
The Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic is a large general hospital of 1,850 beds in Rome, Italy. It serves as the teaching hospital for the medical school of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore , and owes its name to the university founder, the Franciscan friar, physician and psychologist...

.
Georg Ratzinger is almost blind.

There has been speculation that in a future consistory held by Benedict XVI, he could be made a non-voting Cardinal for his services to Catholic music and liturgy, but the ancient practice of conferring cardinalates on notable papal relatives has not been observed for some time- though it has happened and the Pope is free to do so as supreme ruler of the earthly Church (being unbound by traditional regulations against doing so in secular positions). It would not be totally unprecedented due to Monsignor Ratzinger's prestigious contributions to church music. In the last forty years or so under Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, the cardinalate has been conferred on one or two priests or deserving prelates during a consistory, generally those above the voting age of 80 and who were not archbishops in line for elevation (and sometimes secretly, in pectore
In pectore
In pectore is a term used in the Catholic Church to refer to appointments to the College of Cardinals by the Pope when the name of the newly appointed cardinal is not publicly revealed...

), for their services to the Church.

On 29 June 2011 Msgr Ratzinger celebrated sixty years as a priest and gave an interview on the topic. During which he noted that during the ordination "My brother was the second to youngest, though there were some who were older." He also noted that "I have the stole and the cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...

 from that day".

Honours and awards

  • In 1967 he was made Chaplain of His Holiness
    Chaplain of His Holiness
    A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges, such as regards ecclesiastical dress....

     and in 1976 Prelate of Honour of His Holiness
    Honorary Prelate
    An Honorary Prelate of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards ecclesiastical dress...

    .
  • In 1981 Georg Ratzinger was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz
    Bundesverdienstkreuz
    The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...

     of the Federal Republic of Germany.
  • In 1994, he was made a Protonotary apostolic
    Protonotary apostolic
    In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside of Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pope has conferred this title and its special privileges.-History:In later antiquity there were in...

    .
  • In 2005 he was awarded the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art
  • Msgr. Georg Ratzinger was made an honorary citizen of Castel Gandolfo
    Castel Gandolfo
    Castel Gandolfo is a small Italian town or comune in Lazio that occupies a height overlooking Lake Albano about 15 miles south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills. It is best known as the summer residence of the Pope. It is an Italian town with the population of 8834...

     in 2008.
  • In 2009 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
    Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
    The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...

    .
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