Holy Father's pastoral visit to his native Bavaria
The officially confirmed program for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to his native Bavaria from September 9 – 14 was announced on Saturday, August 19 in Rome. Both in terms of contents and time, the Vatican has by and large confirmed the details which had already been worked out in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and in the Dioceses of Passau and Regensburg, most of which had already been announced.
On the day of his arrival in Bavaria, the Pope will meet Federal President Horst Köhler, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister President Edmund Stoiber in Munich for talks.
Arrival in Munich, prayer at Marienplatz, meeting with government representatives The Holy Father will arrive at Franz Josef Strauss Airport in Munich at 3:30 p.m. on September 9 where he will be met by Federal President Köhler with military honors as a Head of State.
The Federal President will welcome him, and the Pope will reply. Chancellor Merkel will also greet the Pope on the runway, as will Minister President Stoiber and the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Friedrich Wetter, who invited the Pope to Bavaria, and the Chairman of the German Conference of Bishops, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, and the Bavaria diocese bishops. The Pope will then drive in the popemobile to the center of Munich, the last part of the way, from the Ducal Georgianum (Herzogliches Georgianum) on Professor Huber Square to Marienplatz.
Munich and Pope Benedict XVI
The Bavarian capital is one of the most important stations in the life of Joseph Ratzinger, the priest, archbishop and cardinal, who was elected Pope on April 19, 2005.
Born on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn in the diocese of Passau, Ratzinger spent most of his childhood, youth and student days within the borders of the archbishopric of Munich and Freising.
At approximately 5:30 p.m., he will be met at the Column of the Virgin Mary (Mariensäule) in the center of Munich by Minister President Stoiber and Cardinal Wetter. At the Mariensäule the Pope will address a prayer to the Virgin Mary who is revered as the patroness of Bavaria. Munich's Lord Mayor Christian Ude will then welcome him and give him the Golden Book of the city of Munich to sign. German News show you some impressions from this place with our live webcam.
The Pope will then ride in the popemobile to the Residence where he will pay a courtesy call to Federal President Köhler and meet the Chancellor and the Bavarian Minister President for a talk. Thereafter he will be driven to the Erzbischofshof where he will reside during his stay in Munich.
High Mass at the open-air ground of the Munich Trade Fair Center, vespers with parents, catechists, teachers of religion and Holy Communion children in the cathedral Pope Benedict XVI will arrive at the open-air grounds at the Munich Trade Fair Center at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 10.
There he will ride through the rows of the faithful in the popemobile and celebrate the Eucharist with them at 10:00. Cardinal Wetter will welcome him at the beginning of the Mass. The Pope will preach and after the service pray the Angelus and hold the traditional Angelus address. 
The next official appointment is the ride in the popemobile on Sunday afternoon to Munich's Liebfrauendom where at 5:30 p.m. vespers with young families, catechists, teachers of religion and Holy Communion children begin.
The Pope will be met at the main portal of the Cathedral by Munich's Archbishop Metropolitan. Vespers in the cathedral will begin after a prayer in the Chorkapelle in front of the monstrance and in the crypt where Cardinal Michael Faulhaber who ordained him as priest in 1951 and Cardinal Julius Döpfner who was his direct successor when he was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982 are buried.
Pope in Altötting
The election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to Pope Benedict XVI was followed by joyous celebrations in Altötting, a city famous as a place of pilgrimage.
High Mass at Altötting's Chapel Square (Kapellplatz), meeting with members of the order and candidates for the priesthood, brief visit to the parish church of St. Oswald in Marktl am Inn On Monday, September 11, the Pope will fly by helicopter to Altötting.
Lord Mayor Ude from Munich will bid farewell to him at Munich's Bavaria Barracks at 8:15 a.m. He will arrive in Altötting at 9:20 a.m. and be received by the Bishop of Passau, Wilhelm Schraml, Minister President Stoiber, the Landrat for the district of Altötting, Erwin Schneider, and the Mayor of Altötting, Herbert Hofauer.
At 9.30 a.m. the Pope will drive in the popemobile to Altötting's Chapel Square and say a brief prayer in the chapel.
At 10:30 Holy Mass will begin at the Chapel Square to which the Pope will be welcomed by Bishop Schraml. This will be followed by a sacrament procession to the recently opened Anbetungskapelle and its official consecration by the Pope. On Monday afternoon the Pope will ride in the popemobile to St. Ann's Basilica where at 5:00 p.m. he will celebrate vespers with members of the order and candidates for the priesthood from Bavaria and talk to them. Before this, the Holy Father will visit the church of St. Conrad of Parzham for a brief prayer. After vespers the Pope will be given the Golden Book in the Basilica by Mayor Hofauer to sign.
On the evening of September 11 the Pope will arrive at 6:45 p.m. for a short visit to the church in which he was baptized, the parish church of St. Oswald in Marktl am Inn, where he will be met by parish priest Josef Kaiser and Mayor Hubert Gschwendtner.
Thereafter the Pope will ride in the popemobile to the local sports field and from there fly by helicopter to Regensburg.
Tour Regensburg for the Pope
Regensburg - young, “Italian”, right in the heart of Europe and since 13th July 2006 UNESCO World Heritage Site! 
There he will be greeted by Bishop Müller, a representative of the Bavarian Minister President, the Lord Mayor of Regensburg, Hans Schaidinger, and the Landrat for the district of Regensburg, Herbert Mirbeth.
Holy Mass at Islinger Feld close to Regensburg, meeting with members of the academic community at the university, meeting with ecumenical representatives in the cathedral, private visit with Pope's brother, Monsignore Georg Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI will arrive at Islinger Feld bei Regensburg on Tuesday, September 12 at 9:30 a.m. and will drive through the crowds of the faithful in the popemobile.
The Eucharist celebration to which he will be welcomed by Bishop Müller will begin at 10:00 a.m.
The next official appointment in Regensburg is at 4:45 p.m. at the University of Regensburg to which the Pope will ride in the popemobile. Here he will meet with members of the academic community from all over Bavaria. At 5:00 p.m. the Pope will be received by the Rector of the University, Professor Alf Zimmer, and accompanied to the Auditorium Maximum where he will speak to the faculty and students. Another highlight in the Pope's visit to Regensburg will be the celebration of ecumenical vespers and an ecumenical gathering in the Regensburg cathedral.
At 6:00 p.m. the Pope will drive in the popemobile to the Church of St. Ulrich next to the cathedral. There he will be met by top-level representatives of the member churches and church communities of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft christlicher Kirchen in Bayern (The Working Group of Christian Churches in Bavaria) who will congregate in the cathedral to form a procession. At 6:30 p.m. an ecumenical vesper service will be held with a sermon by the Pope. Upon leaving the cathedral, the Pope will sign the city's Golden Book in the presence of Lord Mayor Schaidinger.
Pope's private day in Regensburg and Pentling Outside the official program, Wednesday, September 13, has been scheduled above all as a day for the Pope to meet his brother, Apostolic Protonotary Georg Ratzinger, who lives in Regensburg.
There is only one official appointment on this day. At 11:00 a.m. the Pope will bless a new organ in the Old Chapel in Regensburg and extend greetings to those present at this time. In the afternoon he will visit the cemetery and the adjacent St. Josef Church near Pentling where he once lived. His parents and his sister Maria are buried in the cemetery. The Pope will spend the late afternoon with his brother in his former home in Pentling.
Prayers in Freising Cathedral at shrine of St. Corbinian, meeting with priests and deacons, departure from airport.
On the last day of his visit to Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI will leave Regensburg and arrive by helicopter at 10:30 a.m. at the General-von-Stein Barracks in Freising.
Popes tour in Freising
Freising, a 25 minute drive north-east of Munich, is the oldest city in Upper Bavaria and is looking back on almost 1,300 years of history. Somebody says "Freising – historic diocesan city on the banks of the river Isar - Anyone who does not know Freising cannot truly say he knows Old Bavaria!"
The Pope will ride through the center of Freising to Cathedral Mountain in the popemobile. On June 25, 1951 he and his brother, along with 40 other candidates for the priesthood, were ordained priests by Cardinal Faulhaber.
He began his career as professor of theology at the University of Philosophy and Theology in Freising. He will be received in the Domhof by the rector of the Domkirche and Director of the Cardinal Döpfner House in Freising, parish priest Guido Anneser, by the Lord Mayor of Freising Dieter Thalhammer and the Landrat for the district of Freising, Manfred Pointner. He will sign the Gold Book of the City of Freising in front of the cathedral portal. The Pope will pray before the shrine of St. Corbinian who propagated the Christian faith in Bavaria in the 8th century and is venerated as the patron of the old Diocese of Freising and the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. The Pope will also speak to the priests and deacons in the cathedral, including those priests still alive who were ordained with him. Finally, Cardinal Wetter will address the Pope and thank him for his visit.
At 12.15 Uhr Pope Benedict XVI will be met at Munich Airport by representatives of the government and the Church from whom he will then take leave. At 12.45 p.m. his plane will depart for Rome. Thereafter a press conference will be held in the press center at the airport (approx. 1:15 p.m.) at which Cardinal Wetter, Bishop Schraml, Bishop Müller and Minister President Stoiber will make a preliminary assessment of the visit.
Further information at the official site www.benedikt-in-bayern.de
source: media welcome BTM , wr/ua
photo: German News, Regensburg Tourismus GmbH, Stadt Freising
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