Pope's brother comes for Benedict's birthday
VATICAN CITY, APR 14 (AP/UNB) - Pope Benedict XVI's brother is spending the weekend at the Vatican ahead of the pontiff's 85th birthday on Monday.
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published photos of the two sitting side by side in prayer after Mass Saturday in the pope's private chapel.
It said Benedict on Friday night cut short an Easter week vacation at the papal holiday retreat in the hills outside Rome to welcome Georg Ratzinger, an 88-year-old priest and former choirmaster who is nearly blind.
The elder Ratzinger arrived from their native Germany for several key dates the two will celebrate together. Benedict on Thursday marks the seventh anniversary of his election as pontiff.
Georg Ratzinger has said that the two brothers have always been close.
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published photos of the two sitting side by side in prayer after Mass Saturday in the pope's private chapel.
It said Benedict on Friday night cut short an Easter week vacation at the papal holiday retreat in the hills outside Rome to welcome Georg Ratzinger, an 88-year-old priest and former choirmaster who is nearly blind.
The elder Ratzinger arrived from their native Germany for several key dates the two will celebrate together. Benedict on Thursday marks the seventh anniversary of his election as pontiff.
Georg Ratzinger has said that the two brothers have always been close.
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