Pope's home to be made a museum

BAVARIA, Germany, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- The owner of Pope Benedict XVI's Bavarian birthplace is considering selling it to a German church group that wants to make it a museum.

A bid has been made on the home by the "Pope Benedict XVI's Birthplace Foundation," which was started by Passau Bishop Wilhelm Schraml with funding from the industrialist family of the late Cardinal Joseph Frings, Duetsch Welle reported Monday.

The pope, whose birth name is Joseph Ratzinger, used to be an adviser for Frings, who died in 1978.

The current owner, Claudia Dandl, is selling the property because she said it has been besieged by tourists since Pope Benedict XVI became leader of the Roman Catholic church.