Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, was connected to Munich in many ways. In August 1943, at the age of 16, he was sent to the state capital as an air force helper, where he was first deployed in an anti-aircraft battery in Unterföhring and later had to serve to protect the BMW factory in Allach in Ludwigsfeld. His unit was later moved to Gilching, and it is also known that he attended the Maximiliansgymnasium in Munich at that time.
From September 1947 Ratzinger studied Catholic theology and philosophy at the University of Munich. He was then a seminarian at the Ducal Georgianum of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU).
From August 1951 Ratzinger worked as a chaplain in the parish of St. Martin in the Moosach district, then for a year in the Heilig Blut parish in the Bogenhausen district. In the Gebele School he taught Catholic religion. In 1957 he habilitated at the LMU in the subject of fundamental theology with the work “The Theology of History of Saint Bonaventure”. He really came into the public eye in 1977 when he was appointed archbishop of Munich and Freising.
Introduction to the office of Archbishop of Munich and Freising 1977: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger swears an oath to the Bavarian Constitution in the residence before Prime Minister Alfons Goppel (CSU).
In the Cathedral of Our Lady: On May 28, 1977, Joseph Ratzinger was consecrated as a bishop in Munich by Bishop Josef Stangl.
Church consecration in Munich-Neuperlach: Joseph Ratzinger 1979, at the time when he was Archbishop of Munich and Freising.
Increasingly in demand: in 1980 on the apron of Munich Airport after a trip to Poland with a delegation of German bishops.
With the predecessor on a city tour: 1980 with Pope John Paul II on the Theresienwiese. In 1982 Ratzinger moved to Rome as prefect of the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Appearance in the Olympic Stadium: 1987 at the beatification of Father Rupert Mayer.
Very worldly honor: In 1989, Ratzinger was awarded the Karl-Valentin-Order in the Suresnes-Schlösschen in Schwabing. Right: Narhalla President Werner Hoser. Left: Carnival Princess Susanne II. (Susanne Schmutz).
A special anniversary: In 2000, Ratzinger celebrated the golden jubilee of Monsignor Georg Schuster, Alfons Karpf, Ludwig Radlmaier and the brothers Georg and Johann Warmedinger in the Maria Schutz church in Pasing.
Visit as Pope: Ratzinger, to Benedict XVI. ascended, 2006 with Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber (CSU) and Cardinal Friedrich Wetter in front of the residence.
The interest in the guest performance of the first Bavarian pope in his homeland: enormous.
Benedict XVI celebrates at the exhibition center in Riem. an open-air Eucharist. In the background: the Enghauser Cross, the oldest monumental crucifix in the world.
Gathered in prayer: 250,000 people come to witness the historic event.
Joseph Ratzinger left his mark in Munich: there are two entries of him in the city’s Golden Book – once as a cardinal and once, in the picture, as pope.
A picture of him adorns the staircase in the Archbishop’s Ordinariate on Kardinal-Faulhaber-Strasse. . .
. . . and a bust shows him as Pope.
A relief of him can be seen in the Frauenkirche – a lasting memory of a man who helped shape the city and whose work in it – keyword abuse scandal – is still not fully illuminated.