POPE BENEDICT -XVI
POPE'S BROTHER SAYS, HE NEW OF HIS RESIGNATION BUT DID NOT INFLUENCE HIM ON HIS DECISION IN ANY WAY.
He told the news website on Monday he had sat in front of his radio in his flat in the southern city of
Regensburg listening to the 12 o'clock news bulletin on his favourite station, Bayern-4-Klassik, waiting
for the headline that he knew was going to shock the world.
POPE'S FAMILY, FATHER, MOTHER, SISTER AND BROTHER
The brothers' relationship has been described as symbiotic. They speak at least once a week on the telephone and are known to play four-handed duets on the piano.
When Benedict visited his native Bavaria in 2006, the brothers often walked hand in hand. They also made a joint visit to the grave of their parents and sister Maria, who maintained the house for them until her death in 1991.
Both had expressed a wish to enter the priesthood from an early age.
Ratzinger hoped he would now be able to spend more time with his brother. He added: "I wish us both to be spared from further health problems, until the dear Jesus Christ comes to fetch us.
