Pope enjoys private time after criticising Islam

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2006

REGENSBURG, Germany (AFP) — Pope Benedict XVI knelt in prayer at the graves of his mother, father and sister in the emotional highpoint of his six-day visit to his native Bavaria. The private prayers at the tiny Ziegetsdorf cemetery outside Regensburg came on the penultimate day of the pontiff's trip, which the Vatican said had been reserved for "private time" for the pope and his elder brother Georg, 82.

Georg Ratzinger, an 82-year-old retired priest in frail health, leaned on his stick as he stood beside his kneeling brother. The scene, screened from a crowd of wellwishers by a two-metre high hedge, was shown on German television. The pilgrims and locals were kept back behind security barriers. The grave, covered in flowers and shrubs, contains the bodies of the pontiff's...