In June, 93-year-old Benedict had spent five days in his native Germany visiting his sick brother, who was also a priest. It was the first time that Benedict left Italy since 2013, when he was the first pope to step down in six centuries.
Georg and Benedict attended a seminary in January 1946 where they were both trained to be priests at the same time. Before that, they had served in the military until the defeat of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II.
Even after Benedict was elevated to pope in 2005, they remained in close contact. Georg told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag that his brother called him regularly on a private phone whose number only the Pope knew.
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