Parents held their children’s hands tightly, older couples and nuns looked on in sorrow as they waited for their turn to write down their thoughts in a book of condolences, which was laid out next to a black-framed picture of the smiling pope in front of the altar. The retired pope died after a long illness at age 95 in Rome, but many Catholic Bavarians have always felt especially close to him because of their shared ancestry, dubbing him the “Bavarian pope.” Believers from across the southern German state headed to the Catholic pilgrimage town of Altoetting to share their grief. The town is famous for its statue of the Virgin Mary, who is said to have miraculous healing powers. Benedict — who was born in the nearby village of Marktl — came here many times, even as a child with his parents, to pray to the “black Madonna,” as locals call her affectionately. World & Nation Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday. “It’s a pity the pope died,” said Roslyn Scott, a Nigerian who lives in the Bavarian capital of Munich and had come to pray to the Virgin Mary statue in Altoetting when she heard the news of Benedict’s death. “He was just a quiet pope who was most loved by the Bavarian people.” In his “spiritual will,” released by the Vatican on Saturday, Benedict also wrote of his love for Bavaria, saying that he “would like to thank the Lord for the beautiful homeland in the Bavarian foothills of the Alps, in which I have seen again and again the splendor of the Creator Himself shining through.” While many Bavarians expressed sadness at the loss, the mayor of Altoetting noted that Benedict “had been preparing for a long time to meet the eternal judge.” “He has always expressed that and I think he is very calm and very serene about this encounter,” said Stephan Antwerpen. When the church bells rang loudly in the afternoon, and dusk settled across the town square, people started filling the church pews for a requiem service held by the pastor, Klaus Metzl. As the priest walked through the aisle, the organ roared, the altar boys and girls waved incense, and the faithful rose and sang. “Man thinks, the Lord directs,” Metzl said to the crowd inside the church. “Who would have thought this morning that we would gather here later in front of the pope’s photo to commemorate him. “Death is the fulfillment of life,” the priest preached. “We all have one goal: heaven.” Bavaria is considered one of the most Catholic and conservative regions in Germany, so elsewhere in the southern state, clergy were also preparing to pay their last respects to Benedict. The diocese of Regensburg, where Benedict taught theology at a university in the 1960s and 1970s, ordered that the bells of all the churches will be rung for 15 minutes at noon Sunday. The state government in Bavaria ordered that flags on regional government buildings be flown at half-staff Saturday and on the day of Benedict’s funeral. “Benedict spent his life wanting to find the mystery of God and help others find it,” Metzl told the Associated Press. “I am sure that he has found it now,” Metzl added. “And the mother of God, whom he so loved dearly, will now show him the way.” California Hollywood Inc. Subscribe for unlimited access Site Map VATICAN CITY -- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is lucid, alert and stable but his condition remains serious, the Vatican said Thursday, a day after it revealed that the 95-year-old's health had deteriorated recently. Copyright © 2025, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. (NWA Media) This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC Deutsch Silicon wafersHyperpure silicon wafers are the basis for almost all semiconductor elements and consequently represent an essential basis for the world’s electronics industry Siltronic’s extensive product range covers the global semiconductor industry’s specific requirements Perfect surfaces for versatile applications Superior basis for highly integrated components Specialized wafers for innovative technologies Perfect Silicon Solutions: Positioned as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of silicon wafers with diameters up to 300 mm Siltronic partners with many preeminent chip manufacturers and companies in the semiconductor industry Technology leader and driving force for innovation Siltronic AG Executive Board and Supervisory Board Siltronic’s history goes back to the year 1953 Globally positioned: Siltronic is manufacturing in Asia Achieving the ultimate in quality standards determines our corporate philosophy Solution-oriented customer and supplier relations Sustainability is part of our corporate DNA – for the benefit of people and the environment as well as with a view to the company's profitability Our targets help us to become better and better How we manage our sustainability performance How we protect the environment and its resources Together with our suppliers for more sustainability at home in the world: Today Siltronic is a global employer in which employees around the world place their trust and loyalty Employees appreciate the good team spirit and sustainable personnel development just as much as they value the corporate culture based on flexibility and initiative Open positions in Germany Open positions in the USA Open positions in Singapore Siltronic AG has been listed since 2015 and is included on the SDAX and the TecDAX we regard investor relations as an obligation as well as a strong motivation Our interactions with our shareholders and investors are characterized by transparency and openness This is the only way to build trust and shape the future together Current reports and presentations provide insights Confident and concentrated on the essentials: our principles of corporate governance Directors’ Dealings and ad hoc disclosures All important financial market dates at a glance Siltronic AG is helping local medical facilities with a donation of urgently needed protective overalls the company handed over 1,000 protective overalls to District Administrator Erwin Schneider of the Altötting District Office there has been a shift in demand for personal protective equipment to cope with the corona crisis Whereas disinfectants and FFP2 masks were scarce at first protective gowns and overalls are now the primary source of supply "At a time when protective equipment is scarce everywhere it was a given for us to donate the protective overalls We hope that in doing so we can support and protect some of the people in the healthcare sector who are currently doing such a great job," says Dr The originally packed protective overalls come from Siltronic's own stocks and were originally purchased for employees working in the clean room The Altötting District Office will be responsible for distributing the protective overalls as needed for the hospitals in Altötting and Burghausen District Administrator Schneider is grateful for the spontaneous willingness to donate: "The fact that we received a direct response to our inquiry on the same day shows Siltronic's commitment to the region The donation will bring great relief to those affected the employees in the two hospitals will be able to protect themselves sufficiently and thus ensure the best possible care for all patients" Back to news list We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. 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Read more in our privacy policy Our website may contain elements from external sources It should be noted that we have no influence on whether operators of other websites comply with the applicable data protection provisions For more information on the individual providers The providers using cookies on this site are listed below you can choose to allow certain cookies on this site ##teaserTitle## HO STADT ALTOETTING / AFP via Gatty Images Did the boy Mozart transcribe Allegri's Miserere after hearing it just once And is that really his widow in an early photo Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was buried in an unmarked ‘simple’ grave (not a communal pit) which was standard for Vienna’s middle class at that time The poor were buried in sacks whereas Mozart probably wore a black suit His wife Constanze and his patron Gottfried van Swieten bought his coffin In 1992 the British Medical Journal claimed that Mozart’s mannerisms and his scatological letters showed he had Tourette’s But his bums-and-poo humour was in fact evidence of high spirits and was common in middle-class Vienna In the decades after Mozart's death, the new Romantic ideas of composer-as-tortured-artist embroidered the story of the Requiem’s composition But the day-of-death rehearsal with friends is fanciful: the last sing-through happened earlier As early as Dec 1791, the rumour was circulating that A ntonio Salieri poisoned Mozart. Alexander Pushkin wrote a play about it and as late as 1984, the film Amadeus was made based on the idea There’s no firm evidence Mozart heard them played But he didn’t write them for posterity: he was a pro He undoubtedly wrote them for commercial performance but was probably stymied by Vienna’s 1788 recession Remembering and transcribing the layout of this formulaic piece would indeed have been within the powers of the young Mozart, one of music's greatest prodigies. However, no Mozart manuscript of Allegri's Miserere is known The only references are his father Leopold's vague letter at the time and his sister’s recollections 20 years later A portion of his String Quintet, K516 manuscript has music fragments possibly associated with the alphabet – but no instructions on how to ‘convert’ names to melodies Verdict: Hard to say a conclusive yes here Not only did Mozart never wear the party-joke hairpieces featured in the film Amadeus – he rarely wore a wig (only for official occasions) What you see in those portraits is his own fair hair Rauscher, Shaw and Ky (1993) reported that hearing ten minutes of Mozart’s Sonata K448 temporarily increased IQ scores, compared to silence, something that came to be known as 'The Mozart Effect' But nobody else has replicated this – they’ve only concluded that it’s an effect of mood An old lady seen standing in a group photo taken at the house of composer Max Keller is rumoured to be Mozart's widow There's some discussion over the authenticity of this photo Constanze - aged just 29 when Mozart died in 1791 - did later marry Danish diplomat Georg Nissen and they regularly visited Max Keller at his home in Altoetting outdoor photography was still a very young art form by the time of Constanze's death in 1842 so it would be an impressive feat to have had this photo taken in the art form's very early infancy