Georg Ratzinger

Georg Ratzinger ( born January 15, 1924 in Pleiskirchen to Altötting in Upper Bavaria ) is a German Roman Catholic priest and church musician. He is the brother of retired Pope Benedict XVI. and great-nephew of the Reichstag deputies Georg Ratzinger.

Life

Georg Ratzinger on 15 January 1924 as the son of the Gendarmerie Master Joseph (* March 6, 1877; † August 25, 1959 ) and the cook Maria, born Peintner (* January 7, 1884, † December 16, 1963 ) was born. He has two siblings, Joseph Aloysius ( born April 16, 1927) and Maria Ratzinger (* December 7, 1921; † November 2, 1991 ). The latter devoted himself until her death the household of George and the budget of the future Pope Benedict XVI.

Already the age of eleven played Georg Ratzinger on the church organ. In 1935, he entered the minor seminary in Traunstein one, where he received his first professional music lessons. In 1941 he first heard the cathedral choir as they sang the Mozart Year 1941 in Salzburg. In the same year he was in the course of accession duty member of the Hitler Youth. In the summer of 1942 he was drafted into the Reich Labour Service and in the fall of the Wehrmacht. In 1944, he was wounded in Italy at the right upper arm and fell against the war in American captivity. In July 1945, he returned home to Traunstein.

In January 1946, he joined with his younger brother Joseph, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. , The seminary of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, but at the same time he continued his musical studies. In 1951 he was ordained along with his brother by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber to the priest. He studied church music at the Musikhochschule in Munich while he was simultaneously used by the diocese in various places as a priest. In 1957 he graduated from the master class and was choir director in Traunstein.

On 1 February 1964 he became the successor of Theobald Schrems as Director of Music at the Regensburg Cathedral and " boss" of the cathedral choir. Under his direction recordings of great works of choral music (including the Christmas Oratorio and Motets by Johann Sebastian Bach and Heinrich Schütz Psalms of David ) There arose. The choir became very busy concert schedule with trips to the U.S., Scandinavia, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Ireland, Poland, Hungary, the Vatican and an annual tour of Germany and fulfilled to continue the liturgical services in the Cathedral of St. Peter in Regensburg.

1976 celebrated the cathedral choir its 1000th anniversary. The following year, Georg Ratzinger led the choir with his brother Joseph of consecration as archbishop of Munich and Freising. In 1994 he resigned from his post as Director of Music and has since been living as a canon of the collegiate St. Johann in Regensburg. He is succeeded by Roland Büchner.

On 29 June 2011 he celebrated with his brother and other colleagues consecration in Rome its 60th anniversary as a priest.

In September 2011, Ratzinger's memories of his brother published with the title My Brother, the Pope. Recorded they were by the journalist Michael Hesemann.

Work

Georg Ratzinger devoted himself to church music not only in his office as Director of Music (Conductor ), but also as a composer and arranger. On the occasion of the Holy Year in 2000 he wrote the exhibition L' Anno Santo. Also a set to O Holy Night, which is sometimes sung by the cathedral choir as an encore in Christmas concerts, comes from him.

Honors

In 1967, Pope Paul VI gave. Georg Ratzinger, the honorary title of Chaplain of His Holiness, and in 1976 the title of Pontifical honorary prelate. In 1981, the Federal Cross of Merit he was awarded the band, in 1983 he received the Bavarian Order of Merit and in 1989, the Federal Cross of Merit 1st class. On 23 October 1993, he the highest papal honor prelate dignity was of John Paul II with the title Apostolic prothonotary awarded. In 1994 he was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In May 2005 he was also awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class, and on 17 January 2009, the Grand Cross of Merit of the Italian Republic.

In August 2008, Georg Ratzinger was awarded honorary citizenship of Castel Gandolfo. On 25 January 2009 he was appointed Ehrendomherrn at Regensburg Cathedral on the occasion of his 85th birthday at a formal Pontifikalvesper by Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller.

In 2010 he received at Rome the " Honorary Award of the Fondazione Pro Musica e Arte Sacra ", the highest award, which is awarded by the Roman foundation for spiritual art and music.

On January 15, 2014 Georg Ratzinger celebrated his 90th birthday at the Vatican. He was in the presence of his brother in honor of Pope em. Benedict XVI. , A privately organized concert given Michael Hesemann spoke a eulogy.

Controversy about educational leadership style

In March 2010, educational leadership style Ratzinger was criticized. He himself admitted, "In the past slaps were simply the mode of reaction to misconduct or deliberate denial of service. ", And thus he too had occasionally punishes such behavior of the Boys' Choir at the beginning of his choirmaster activity ( 1964ff. ) with slaps. At the statutory ban on corporal punishment he had held striktissime, and that made ​​it easier for him inwardly. According to the news magazine Der Spiegel, former lead singer of the cathedral choir Ratzinger referred to as "extremely choleric and irascible ." He is said to have " thrown incensed yet the late eighties at choir rehearsals chairs in the men's voices ." Other former cathedral choir, which shortly thereafter turned to the Mittelbayerische newspaper, Ratzinger participated in protection against it and stressed that there had been in their time, no such violence against singer.

Writings

• Michael Hesemann: My Brother, the Pope. Herbig, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7766-2678-0.
• Missa L ' anno santo for mixed choir a cappella, Feuchtinger & Gleichauf, Regensburg 2000