The man His youth Delicate joys, passions, and great sorrows Joseph Ratzinger lives a happy childhood in a devoted and peaceful family. He loves God, his studies, music, and the Alps. But all around him the country sees the rise of Nazism. His father, a policeman, is in the top row. Soon, Germany will sink into war. The Ratzinger family celebrates the 80th birthday of Katharina, Joseph’s paternal grandmother. On the Bavarian farm of Rickering, Joseph, in the first row on the right, is four years old. His brother Georg, in white on the left, is seven. His sister Maria, nine years old, is standing in a bright dress next to the Reverend Georg Ratzinger, the celebrity of the family. His parents are standing on the right. © 2011 by Michael Hesemann 6 • BENEDICT XVI BENEDICT XVI • 7 B E N E D I C T X V I
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