"It was a historic day": Citizens from the district at the Pope's funeral

Created: 06/01/2023, 19:00

By: Christiane Mühlbauer

Group photo in front of St. Peter's Basilica: Mountain riflemen from Bad Tölz, Ellbach, Reichersbeuern, Kochel and Wolfratshausen had taken the bus to Rome for the burial.

© Krinner

When Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

was buried in St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday, there were also numerous citizens from the district in Rome.

The day was a moving experience for everyone.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen – Martin Haberfellner, the governor of the Bavarian mountain rifle companies, flew to Rome on Thursday, as did Gerhard Meinl as a representative of the Teutonic Order.

In addition to Prime Minister Markus Söder, the special machine contained numerous other politicians and representatives of various institutions.

"We won't have a pope from Bavaria anytime soon," says Martin Haberfellner from Kochel.

For him, the memory is now overriding the grief.

The deceased head of the church maintained a connection with the mountain riflemen for decades.

Haberfellner already knew Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger well when he was ordered to Rome in 1982.

There were several encounters, receptions and private audiences when he was then Pope.

"You never forget that," says Kochler.

In the company of the mountain riflemen, Benedict XVI.

"Always felt at home", I often asked about individuals and took an active interest in developments in the diocese of Munich-Freising.

Now the chapter in Rome has closed, says Haberfellner and thinks thoughtfully: "At a celebration like this, you involuntarily think about

how your own life ends.

We will all be in one coffin one day.”

Martin Haberfellner (left), governor of the Bavarian mountain rifle companies, with his deputy Hans Baur (right) and Apostolos Malamoussis, Greek-Orthodox pastor for Geretsried until 2017.

© private

The Bavarian anthem got under everyone's skin

The ceremony was "very moving", reports Gerhard Meinl from Geretsried.

However, he found the Requiem "a little hasty".

In Pope Francis' sermon, he would have wished for more reference to his predecessor's Bavarian homeland.

In the end, however, the mountain riflemen and the Unterpfaffenhofen fire brigade band made up for that when, just as the coffin was being carried into St. Peter's Basilica, the piece "Nearer my God to you" and then the Bavarian anthem sounded.

"We all sang along.

It got under your skin.” Meinl was also there when Cardinal Reinhard Marx held Vespers in the afternoon in the church of Santa Maria dell' Anima – that is the national church of the Germans in Rome.

"It was a historic, very special day."

Gerhard Meinl (left) from Geretsried had flown to Rome from Munich as a representative of the Teutonic Order with the politician machine.

There he also met Edmund and Karin Stoiber.

© private

"This connection to Rome no longer exists"

That's how the Tölz shooting captain Andreas Binder felt this day.

Deputations from the Association of Mountain Riflemen drove to the Eternal City in several buses on Wednesday.

Among them were members from Bad Tölz, Ellbach and Reichersbeuern.

It was not Binder's first visit either, he had already seen the pope or cardinal twice before.

The mountain riflemen from the district were not as close to the action as Haberfellner and Meinl, but they still had good positions relatively far up front.

"We were grateful for that," said Binder on the drive home on Friday.

It was also the most emotional moment for him and his comrades when the connection to Bavaria resounded in the music at the end of the requiem.

"This connection to Rome no longer exists," says Binder.

Stoiber: "It was a flush of emotion"

Among the mourners were former Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber and his wife Karin.

The moment with the Bayern anthem was also moving for them.

"It was a surge of emotion that I have rarely experienced," says Stoiber, deeply moved.

It was "a great day" - for the Catholic Church, the Christians, but also for Bavaria, said Stoiber.

"The Bavarian Pope will always remain."

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Thanks from Orthodox Christians

Martin Haberfellner met Apostolos Malamoussis on St. Peter's Square.

He is episcopal vicar of the Greek-Orthodox metropolis of Germany in Bavaria and, as a pastor, was also responsible for the believers in Geretsried until 2017.

It was a great honor for him to be able to attend the funeral, says Malamoussis.

Benedict XVI

was a good bridge builder between the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox Church.

Malamoussis knows the deceased mainly from his time as a cardinal in Munich.

In 1981, Joseph Ratzinger made All Souls' Church available to his congregation free of charge.

His congregation was able to celebrate services there for 13 years.

Then everything was arranged to build their own cultural center.

“We Orthodox have a lot to thank Cardinal Ratzinger for,”

says Malamoussis.

We will never forget him.” müh/cm

You can find more current news from the region around Bad Tölz at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.