Georg Ratzinger

{{Short description|German Catholic prelate and brother of Pope Benedict XVI (1924–2020)}} {{for|the 19th-century politician|Georg Ratzinger (politician)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = priest | honorific-prefix = The Reverend Monsignor | name = Georg Ratzinger | honorific-suffix = PA | title = | image = Meeting with Benedict XVI on 10 August 2019 (retouched, rotated, cropped).tif | imagesize = | alt = | caption = Monsignor Ratzinger in 2019 | church = Roman Catholic Church | archdiocese = | province = | metropolis = | diocese = | see = | elected = | appointed = | term_start = | quashed = | term_end = | predecessor = | opposed = | successor = | other_post =  | ordination = 29 June 1951 | ordained_by = Michael von Faulhaber | consecration = | consecrated_by = | cardinal = | rank =  | birth_name = Georg Ratzinger | birth_date = {{birth date|1924|01|15|df=y}} | birth_place = Pleiskirchen, Bavaria, Germany | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|07|1|1924|01|15|df=yes}} | death_place = Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany | buried = | nationality = German | religion = Catholic (Latin Church) | parents = Joseph Ratzinger Sr.<br>Maria Peintner | spouse = | children = | occupation = | profession = | previous_post = | alma_mater = | motto = | signature = Signature of Georg Ratzinger, 2008.png | signature_alt = | coat_of_arms = | coat_of_arms_alt =  | feast_day = | venerated = | saint_title = | beatified_date = | beatified_place = | beatified_by = | canonized_date = | canonized_place = | canonized_by = | attributes = | patronage = | shrine = | suppressed_date =  | other = }}

'''Georg Ratzinger''' PA (15 January 1924{{spnd}}1 July 2020) was a German Catholic priest and musician, known for his work as the conductor of the Regensburger Domspatzen, the cathedral choir of Regensburg. He was the elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI. Their great-uncle was the German politician Georg Ratzinger.

==Early life and military service== Ratzinger was born in Pleiskirchen, Bavaria, to Joseph Ratzinger Sr. (1877–1959), a police officer, and Maria Ratzinger, née Peintner (1884–1963).<ref name="brother pope"/> His younger brother was Joseph Ratzinger (1927–2022), who later reigned as Pope Benedict XVI from 2005 to 2013, and they had an elder sister, Maria (1921–1991).<ref name="brother pope"/> Early in his life he showed musical talent, playing the church organ already at the age of 11.<ref name=vatnews>{{cite web|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2020-07/georg-ratzinger-death-benedict-xvi-brothers.html|title=Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope emeritus Benedict, dies in Regensburg|publisher=Vatican News|date=1 July 2020}}</ref> In 1935 he entered the minor seminary in Traunstein and had professional musical instruction there.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-04-25-0504250128-story.html|title=Pope's family saw Hitler as enemy|publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=25 April 2005}}</ref> In 1941 he encountered for the first time the choir of the Regensburger Domspatzen, which he would later direct, when they performed in Salzburg on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Mozart's death.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/music/pope-benedict-xvi-mozart-and-the-quest-of-beauty.html|title=Pope Benedict XVI, Mozart and the Quest of Beauty|date=21 April 2006 |publisher=Catholic Education|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

During World War II, in the summer of 1942, Ratzinger was drafted to the Reichsarbeitsdienst and the same autumn to the Wehrmacht.<ref name="brother pope"/> On 12 June 1944, he was shot through the arm during a fight in Bolsena, Italy.<ref name="brother pope">{{cite book |last1=Hesemann |first1=Michael |last2=Ratzinger |first2=Georg |title=My Brother the Pope |date=30 January 2012 |publisher=Ignatius Press |isbn=978-1-68149-345-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S9IwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |access-date=28 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref> At the end of the war, he was a prisoner of war of the U.S. Army in the vicinity of Naples, but was soon released and arrived home in July 1945.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/pope-recalls-being-german-pow|title=Pope Recalls Being German POW|date=25 March 2015 |access-date=1 July 2020|publisher=Fox News}}</ref>

==Education and ordination== In January 1946, he and his brother Joseph entered the seminary of the archdiocese of Munich and Freising to study for the priesthood.<ref name=cathr>{{cite web|url=https://catholicleader.com.au/news/pope-benedict-returns-to-vatican-city-after-visiting-his-ill-brother-msgr-georg-ratzinger-in-germany|title=Pope Benedict returns to Vatican City after visiting his ill brother Msgr Georg Ratzinger in Germany|date=27 June 2020 |publisher=Catholic Reader|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> At the same time he pursued his musical studies.<ref name=cathr/> Georg and Joseph were ordained priests in 1951 by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber.<ref name=cathr/> Afterwards, Ratzinger studied Church music in Munich, while serving in different priestly functions for the diocese.<ref name=vatnews/><ref name=cathr/>

== Regensburger Domspatzen== Ratzinger completed his studies in 1957 and became chorus director in his home parish in Traunstein.<ref name=vatnews/> In February 1964 he was made musical director, Domkapellmeister, at St. Peters Cathedral in Regensburg, thereby becoming the chorus master of the cathedral choir, the Regensburger Domspatzen.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VMEvCwAAQBAJ&q=georg+ratzinger+Domkapellmeister+1964&pg=PA252|title=Rock- und Popmusik als Chance: Impulse für die praktische Theologie|author=Klaus Depta|date=10 December 2015|publisher=Springer |isbn=9783658121891|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

In 1977 Ratzinger conducted the Domspatzen at his brother Joseph's consecration as Archbishop of Munich and Freising.<ref name=ncn>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/231-german-boys-choir-members-abused-three-times-dioceses-reported-number|title=231 German boys choir members abused, three times the diocese's reported number|publisher=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> They sang in honor of Queen Elizabeth II at her state visit in 1978, and at Pope John Paul II's visit to Munich in 1980.<ref name=ncn/> They also gave a concert for the state guests at the NATO summit in 1982 under the auspices of President of Germany Karl Carstens.<ref name=ncn/>

In 2010 Ratzinger indicated he would be prepared to testify to aid investigations into claims of abuse at the Regensburger Domspatzen choir in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1971353,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314055901/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1971353,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 March 2010|title=German Clergy Scandal Reaches the Pope's Family}}</ref> 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 to 1994.<ref name=ncn/>

=== Allegations of sexual and physical abuse under his directorship === A man who lived in the choir-linked boarding school until 1967 contended that "a sophisticated system of sadistic punishments in connection with sexual lust" had been installed there.<ref name=dsa/> ''Der Spiegel'' quoted the man, the composer Franz Wittenbrink, as saying it would be inexplicable that the pope's brother did not know anything about it.<ref name=dsa>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/vorwuerfe-gegen-kirche-regensburger-domspatzen-durch-missbrauch-traumatisiert-a-682126.html|title=Vorwürfe gegen Kirche: Regensburger Domspatzen durch Missbrauch traumatisiert – DER SPIEGEL – Panorama|first=DER|last=SPIEGEL|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=6 March 2010 }}</ref>

Ratzinger admitted slapping pupils in the face.<ref name="BBC">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8558311.stm|title=Dutch bishops order abuse inquiry|date=10 March 2010|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> He commented: "At the start, I also slapped people in the face, but I always had a bad conscience".<ref name="BBC"/> He said he had been relieved when corporal punishment was forbidden in 1980.<ref name="BBC"/> Ratzinger denied any knowledge of sexual abuse.<ref name="BBC" /> A Vatican spokesperson stated that the allegations on sexual abuse, particularly the Regensburg case, are a campaign aimed against the pope and the Roman Catholic Church comparable to Nazi propaganda.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.focus.de/panorama/welt/missbrauchsskandal/medien-zu-missbrauchsskandal-bischof-von-regensburg-zieht-ns-vergleich_aid_491617.html |title=Medien zu Missbrauchsskandal Bischof von Regensburg zieht NS-Vergleich] |magazine=Focus |language=de |date=21 March 2010}}</ref>

A lawyer commissioned by the choir to look into the accusations concluded that over 200 young singers were abused to various degrees, with at least 40 of the cases involving sexual violence, and that he must assume that Ratzinger had known.<ref name="NYTimes">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/world/europe/over-200-members-of-german-choir-were-abused-investigator-says.html|title=Over 200 Members of German Choir Were Abused, Investigator Says|first=Alison|last=Smale|date=8 January 2016|work = New York Times}}</ref> A report in 2017 faulted Ratzinger "in particular for 'looking away' or for failing to intervene" and also stated that, "with a high degree of plausibility", between the years 1945 and 1992, 547 boys were victims of physical or sexual abuse, or both.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/germany-domspatzen-choir-sexual-abuse-1.4210026 Domspatzen choir sexual abuse], cbc.ca/news/world.</ref><ref>[http://uw-recht.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Abschlussbericht_Domspatzen.pdf Abschlussbericht Domspatzen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720081449/http://uw-recht.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Abschlussbericht_Domspatzen.pdf |date=20 July 2017 }} ''Vorfälle von Gewaltausübung an Schutzbefohlenen bei den Regensburger Domspatzen'', Untersuchungsbericht, Ulrich Weber/Johannes Baumeister, original report in German, 18 July 2017.</ref>

==Later life== Ratzinger retired from his position as director of the choir in 1994 and was made canon in Regensburg on 25 January 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/06/22/benedict-xvi-returns-vatican-after-visiting-his-brother-germany|title=Benedict XVI returns to Vatican after visiting his brother in Germany|date=22 June 2020 |publisher=America Magazine|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-most-famous-non-voter/a-1712185|title=Germany's Most Famous Non-Voter|publisher=DW|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

On 29 June 2011, Ratzinger celebrated 60 years as a priest and gave an interview on the topic, during which he noted that during the ordination ceremony, "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 from that day".<ref name=marks>[http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-32986 Georg Ratzinger also marks 90th birthday] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707072102/http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-32986 |date=7 July 2011 }}.</ref> He celebrated his 90th birthday in 2014 with Benedict XVI in the Vatican.<ref>[http://www.kath.net/news/44530 Monsignor Ratzinger Celebrates 90th Birthday with Pope Emeritus], kath.net, 17 January 2014</ref> His birthday party was organized by Vatican journalist Michael Hesemann and the guests included American religion journalist Lauren Green, who played the piano,<ref>[http://www.kath.net/news/44530/print/yes Catholic news], 17 January 2014,</ref> Georg Gänswein and Gerhard Ludwig Müller.<ref name=birth/> The celebrations included a personal letter written by Maria Elena Bergoglio to Ratzinger.<ref name=marks/><ref name=birth>[http://www.osservatoreromano.va/es/news/los-noventa-anos-de-monsenor-georg-ratzinger#.U2V6b-kU_mQ Los noventa anos de monsenor Ratzinger] Osservatore Romano</ref>

===Illness and death=== On 18 June 2020, Ratzinger was reportedly "seriously" unwell while his brother Benedict XVI visited him in Regensburg.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/25881-georg-ratzinger-schwer-erkrankt-benedikt-xvi-in-regensburg|title=Georg Ratzinger schwer erkrankt: Benedikt XVI. in Regensburg!|publisher=Katholisch.de|access-date=1 July 2020|date=18 June 2020|language=de}}</ref> He died two weeks later on 1 July 2020, aged 96.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Georg Ratzinger ist gestorben|url=https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/26029-georg-ratzinger-ist-gestorben|access-date=1 July 2020|website=katholisch.de|language=de}}</ref>

==Honours and awards==  * Black Wound Badge (1944)<ref name="brother pope"/> * Iron Cross 2nd Class (1944)<ref name="brother pope"/>    * Bavarian Order of Merit (1983)<ref name="brother pope"/>  * Protonotary apostolic (1993)<ref name="brother pope"/> * Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class (2004)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXIV/AB/AB_10542/imfname_251156.pdf | title = Reply to a parliamentary question | language = de | page=1630 | access-date = 27 November 2012 }}</ref> * Honorary citizen of Castel Gandolfo (2008)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/emeritus-pope-benedict-in-germany-to-be-with-brother/2020/06/18/445d7e6c-b167-11ea-98b5-279a6479a1e4_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701154847/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/emeritus-pope-benedict-in-germany-to-be-with-brother/2020/06/18/445d7e6c-b167-11ea-98b5-279a6479a1e4_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2020|title=Emeritus Pope Benedict in Germany to be with Ailing Brother|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=22 June 2020|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> * Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2009)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quirinale.it/elementi/Onorificenze.aspx?pag=0&qIdOnorificenza=&cognome=ratzinger&nome=Georg&daAnno=1800&aAnno=2013&luogoNascita=&testo=&ordinamento=ODE_COGNOME |title=ONORIFICENZE |publisher=Italian Presidency |language=it |access-date=19 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110220234/http://www.quirinale.it/elementi/Onorificenze.aspx?pag=0&qIdOnorificenza=&cognome=ratzinger&nome=Georg&daAnno=1800&aAnno=2013&luogoNascita=&testo=&ordinamento=ODE_COGNOME |archive-date=10 January 2016 }}</ref> * Pontifikal vesper of Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Regensburg Cathedral (2009)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2009/january/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20090117_concerto-georg.html|title=ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI|publisher=Vatican|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> * Award of the Fondazione Pro Musica e Arte Sacra (2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amicimusicasacra.com/pdf/eng/FMAS%202010progr.ing%2020.5.pdf|title=IX Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra with the Vienna Philharmonic|publisher=AmiciMusicaSacra|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Georg Ratzinger (priest)}} *[https://archive.today/20121213092010/http://lccn.loc.gov/2011940712 Ratzinger, Georg, ''My brother the pope''] (Ignatius Press 2012 {{ISBN|978-1-58617-704-1}}) *[https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/my-brother-benedict-xvi-an-interview-with-msgr.-georg-ratzinger Interview]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratzinger, Georg}} Category:1924 births Category:2020 deaths Category:People from Altötting (district) Category:20th-century German Roman Catholic priests Category:German male musicians Category:Papal family members Category:Pope Benedict XVI Category:German blind people Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Georg Category:Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Category:German Army personnel of World War II Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Category:Reich Labour Service members Category:21st-century German Roman Catholic priests