Because of a technical glitch in the Bavarian State Chancellery, former Prime Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) did not receive an invitation to the funeral services for Pope Benedict in Rome. This was confirmed by a spokesman for the State Chancellery on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) traveled to Rome on January 5 with a large Bavarian delegation to the funeral ceremonies for the retired Pope. His predecessors Edmund Stoiber and Günther Beckstein were there – but not Seehofer. “Due to a technical error, the invitation for the trip to the funeral of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI did not reach former Prime Minister Horst Seehofer,” said a spokesman for the State Chancellery of the “Mediengruppe Bayern”.
He added: “Unfortunately, this technical error was only discovered after the funeral ceremonies, which is why the former Prime Minister Horst Seehofer and his wife Karin were not able to take part in the delegation trip. The State Chancellery very much regrets this.”