Home of Benedict XVI’s late brother opens doors to Ukrainian refugees

Regensburg, Germany, Mar 24, 2022 / 05:20 am (CNA).

The home of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI’s late brother has opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees.

The house in Regensburg, southern Germany, had lain empty after Msgr. Georg Ratzinger’s death on July 1, 2020, at the age of 96, until the arrival of two refugee families.

Benedict XVI visited his brother days before he died, celebrating Mass at the house in the city’s Old Town.

The building now houses two families from the town of Horishni Plavni, around 80 miles southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg visited the families on March 23. He presented welcoming gifts of beer, lemonade, and a Marian icon, the Diocese of Regensburg said.

Father Ruslan Denysiuk, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest, decided to leave Ukraine following the full-scale Russian invasion because he and his wife, Hanna, are expecting their fourth child in April.

He left Horishni Plavni by car with Hanna, their three children Bogdan (17), Maria (12), and Ilia (11), and their 74-year-old grandmother. They drove west to neighboring Moldova, then through Romania, Hungary, and Austria, on a more than 1,550-mile trek to Germany.

Days after the family found refuge at Msgr. Ratzinger’s former home, they were joined by Galina Lysenko and her 13-year-old daughter Aleksandra, who were members of Father Denysiuk’s parish. Lysenko’s husband remained in Ukraine to help defend Horishni Plavni.

Local residents have donated pots, crockery, clothes, furniture, and toys to the two families.

Msgr. Ratzinger’s former residence is owned by the Collegiates’ Monastery of St. John. The families moved in with the help of the local Caritas organization. More homes have also been sourced and equipped, with the support of the local neighborhood and the Kolping Catholic social organization.

According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, more than 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine in the first month of the war. Over 200,000 refugees have arrived in Germany, a country with a population of 83 million.

Bishop Voderholzer will take part in the worldwide consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25.

He will also preside at a prayer service for peace at Regensburg Cathedral on March 26. Music will be provided by the celebrated Regensburger Domspatzen choir, once led by Msgr. Ratzinger. Father Denysiuk will sing a prayer in Church Slavonic. A collection will support Ukrainian refugees.