Happy Birthday Little Brother

Zenit is reporting the content of a birthday note sent by Pope Benedict's older brother. Since Pope John Paul II did not have any close family still living, it feels strange to think of the Pope and his family. Pope Benedict is the younger brother of Msgr. Georg Ratzinger. They studied for the priesthood together and were ordained together. Their sister, Maria, passed away several years ago. They have no other close family.

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Among the thousands of messages Benedict XVI received on his 79th birthday, one stood out.

Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, the Pope's older brother, who for 40 years was director of the choir of Regensburg Cathedral, sent a message from Bavaria to express what he has always said on this occasion: "Oremus pro invicem" (Let us pray for one another).

The Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire published a written message Monsignor Ratzinger sent to his brother.

"Dear Joseph, may your onerous theological work of so many years be of guidance and help to carry out the grandiose task that God has entrusted to you," said Monsignor Ratzinger. "

May the Lord give you spiritual and intellectual inspiration, as well as physical strength, to be able to make just decisions and find appropriate words, and maintain the courage and firmness in the face of the waves, which according to the secret divine will, surround the Church and, with her, you also," he added.

"May God give us, in these last years of life toward which we are heading, a minimum of fraternal communion with the joy and warmth of before," he said.

The message is signed: "Your brother Georg."