The Pope's Private German Address

Bergstraße 6 in Pentling, on the outskirts of Regensburg, isn't mentioned in the guidebooks but this very normal looking suburban house belongs to none other than Pope Benedict. Indeed, although his visits here will now be, at best, highly infrequent, he once said that 'Pentling is my home in the deepest sense.' He bought the site in 1970 and oversaw the building of the house, into which he moved with his late sister (and housekeeper), Maria. He lived here until 1977, when he became Archbishop of Munich and Freising, but still regarded it as his true home, even as a Roman Cardinal, and during his pilgrimage to Germany last September he visited the house. Back in the 1970s Georg, of course, was busy directing the Cathedral choir down in Regensburg and, to bring the family together in one place, they moved their parents' remains to a nearby cemetery, the Ziegtsdorfer Friedhof (where we said prayers for the Pope's family).


The grounds of the Pope's wohnhaus in Pentling are clearly visible from the street. Here, for example, is the papal beehive (hmm, I wonder if he's thought of selling pots of honey to raise funds for the Holy See?):

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The bees - and the garden - are now cared for by the Holy Father's neighbour, Herr Hofbauer (the owner of Chico the cat and Igor the golden retriever, who were great favourites of the Pope). It was good to see the traditional Epiphany blessing on the back door:

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At first I was reluctant to post information on the papal house - until I got there and discovered that everyone knows it belongs to the Papa. A large sign announces to the passer-by who the famous owner is and there's a large papal flag outside. So, I'm not breaking any Vatican secrets!