Pope Benedict XVI is physically weak at 92 and hardly receives any visitors. A Bavarian journalist was allowed to spend hours with him: an afternoon with Josef Ratzinger.
Almost seven years after his resignation as Pope, there are new pictures of Benedict XVI. Josef Ratzinger. The church leader from Bavaria has received his home station. BR journalist Tassilo Forchheimer has seen a pope who is physically very weak, but is still wide awake mentally. t-online.de asked him how he experienced the Pope.
What can be seen: During the visit, Forchheimer was led through parts of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, was with the 92-year-old Pope in the reception room, on the roof terrace, in the Pope’s office, in his chapel and in the Vatican Gardens. Scenes can be seen: the Pope on an outdoor bench, the Pope at his desk, the Pope in a wheelchair in the chapel. The Pope, laboriously walking with the rollator, is respectfully filmed from a distance, his dignity is not violated. The Pope also speaks in the post, but speaks little.
How it came to the meeting: Forchheimer was director of the ARD studio in Rome, asked many questions and campaigned for trust. Finally, the request was granted: a meeting for a contribution that reviews the life of the Pope and lets him speak again. The Bavarian radio broadcast “A visit to Pope Benedict XVI em. – Little Bavaria in the Vatican” on Monday at 11.15 a.m., the Bavarian holiday Epiphany after the broadcast of a service. Forchheimer comes from Ratzinger’s house transmitter from Bavaria, to which the Pope was associated throughout his life.
How the meeting went: In December some pictures were still shot on the site, but the visit and discussions took place in September. “We actually spent an afternoon with Benedetto at the talks,” said Forchheimer to t-online.de. “I was amazed at how long he had been going with it.” The pope emeritus can only walk with great difficulty, his knees are causing him great problems. And the conversations with him were also difficult for the television format. He wears a hearing aid and understands his counterpart, but the voice is very weak and fragile. In the monastery, Forchheimer also met sisters who look after the Pope, but did not want to be in front of the camera. There are many archive recordings of the Pope and talks with companions, among them Josef Ratzinger’s brother Georg.
How the Pope Works: The age can be seen, he himself said: “I am a pilgrim on the last stage of my journey.” But he looks wide awake, quick in the head – and he obviously also follows how his successor is doing and has retained humor. “I mentioned rather casually that the elevator in its retirement home is obviously in better condition than that in the Apostolic Palace,” says Forchheimer. Benedikt smiled: “He immediately understood the joke.” Shortly before, Pope Francis was late for the Angelus prayer after the Vatican fire department released him from a stuck elevator.
In a scene at his desk, which the Pope has been using for 65 years, Ratzinger shows comparatively vigorously in one place. With pauses between words, he explains: “Because of the terrorism that was then, a security line had to be made in Munich. It is down there.” The recordings in the Vatican Gardens have not been made, if the weather permits, a walk there is part of his daily routine.
The Pope in conversation with his private secretary Georg: He shows him where a secure line was installed at his 65-year-old desk. (Source: BR / Bennmann)
What the pope eats: He still prefers to eat Bavarian desserts, you can find out in the article. But roast pork with noodles are still on the menu – but not together. “That would be too much,” said private secretary Gänswein. “One day, the other.” Cooking is done by Italian sisters – also Italian cuisine.
What else connects him to Bavaria: Forchheimer saw many things in the monastery that are reminiscent of Bavaria. Photos from the birthday house, more pictures. A gingerbread heart hangs there, in icing it says “Dahoam is dahoam”. The sisters hung it in a prominent place, it is a souvenir and a memory of the Oktoberfest. The Pope no longer receives groups of visitors from Bavaria in the monastery.
In prayer in the Pope’s private chapel at Mater Ecclesia Monastery. There is a replica of the Patrona Bavariae, the statue of Mary from Munich’s Marienplatz, a gift from the then Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber. (Source: BR / Bennmann)
In the private chapel there is a replica of the statue of Mary from Munich’s Marienplatz as “Patrona Bavariae” patron saint of Bavaria. It was a gift from the then Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber. And he obviously thinks a lot about his old home. “I am connected to Bavaria at heart,” he says at the end of the almost 29-minute contribution.
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