Pentling residents excited about return of Pope Benedict

Published: 2006-08-31

PENTLING, Germany (CNS) -- Residents of the village of Pentling, where Pope Benedict XVI still owns a home, are excited that their favorite son is returning Sept. 13, and some will even be at the airport when he arrives in Munich Sept. 9. "We are going to send a delegation of 20 people to welcome the pope at the airport when he first touches down in Bavaria," Pentling Mayor Albert Rummel told Catholic News Service Aug. 30. "To greet him, we will bring a banner that has been designed by the local kindergarten, which he himself has christened." In mid-August, Rummel was in Italy to meet with the pope and said the German pontiff is still very attached to his Bavarian roots. "He asked me about people he knew, how everyone is, and after his house," Rummel said. "He also stated how very much he was looking forward to visiting us in Pentling and seemed very much at ease speaking Bavarian dialect with us." Rummel said he thought the pope would try to find a chance to greet his Pentling friends when he visits the village, just outside Regensburg.

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