Retired pope’s elder brother, Georg Ratzinger, dies at 96

BERLIN (AP) — The Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, who earned renown in his own right as a director of an acclaimed German boys’ choir, has died at age 96. The Regensburg diocese in Bavaria, where Ratzinger lived, said in a statement on his website that he died on Tuesday. His death came just over a week after Benedict made a four-day visit to Regensburg to be with his ailing brother. Ordained on the same day as his brother, Ratzinger proved to be a talented musician and went on oversee the recording of numerous masterpieces and concert tours around the world by the Regensburger Domspatzen choir.