Berlin, Germany - German-born Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday begins an emotional, six-day homecoming to his birthplace and the city where he served as a priest and bishop.
But the ceremony and pride of the visit, to include Mass for an expected 250,000 people in Munich on Sunday, will not erase the fact that many people have distinctly mixed feelings about Benedict in his native country -- the land of the Protestant Reformation now turned largely secular, and home to a shrinking and noticeably liberal Catholic Church.
"I think he's a man of the past, and he's trying to cement these conservative tendencies in place," said Rupert Kreuzpaintner, a churchgoing Catholic from Landshut in Benedict's home region of Bavaria who sees the pope as too authoritarian within the church.
Although he is critical of Benedict, "my faith is not affected by that," said Kreuzpaintner, 45. "But for me it is a revolting thing, that a Godlike cult is made around such a person who stands for exactly the opposite of what the message should be."
Many people -- especially in Bavaria, the southern region that remains a Catholic stronghold -- are genuinely proud of the German pope, and the house where he was born in the small town of Marktl am Inn has been hastily fixed up before the visit.
The pope himself sent a letter to Munich, made public Thursday by visit organizers, saying he was looking forward to seeing the places "of my childhood and youth, of my studies and work as a teacher of theology and as archbishop of Munich."
"The fellowship with people in my homeland and the prayers that so many are faithfully saying for me is an important support to me in my responsibilities for the great Catholic world church," he said.
Benedict was ordained a priest in Freising outside Munich, and taught theology at the University of Regensburg and elsewhere before becoming the archbishop of Munich in 1977. He left Bavaria after being named to a post at the Vatican by John Paul II in 1981.
Souvenir makers are selling yellow and white Vatican flags, and the Weideneder brewery in Tann near Marktl has a very Bavarian tribute: Papst-Bier, or Pope Beer, for a pontiff known to enjoy a glass of the national beverage with dinner on occasion.
Prestige visit
"I think it's a prestige visit for Germany," said Brunhilde Urte, a 66-year-old retired bookkeeper. It's great that there's a German pope who is returning. I think he's great."
Patrick Pehl, a 16-year-old high school student leaving evening services at Berlin's St. Hedwig's Cathedral, called Benedict "a good man. He completely represents my views. For instance, on marriage, abortion, and so on -- I agree with him."
However, a survey of 1,000 Germans by the polling agency forsa for broadcaster Deutsche Welle TV showed that while 55 percent consider him a role model and admirable person, even more -- 61 percent -- feel that way about the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader.
About 35 percent of Germans are Protestants, followers of the tradition of reformer Martin Luther, who broke with Rome in the 16th century. There are roughly an equal number of Catholics, but even they often bridle at Benedict's conservative stances on issue such as the ordination of women, gay marriage and married priests.
More than 100,000 people officially leave the church every year, at least some of them to get out of paying an additional church tax levied by the government and used to fund the churches. The number of church leavers was down to 101,000 in 2005 from 129,000 the year before; but on any given Sunday, only about 14 percent of German Catholics attend Mass.
Winfried Gebhardt, a sociologist of religion at the University of Koblenz-Landau, said German Catholics pick and choose which church teachings are going to apply to their lives and establish their own "sovereign" attitude toward the official church.
"I would say that Catholicism as such no longer exists in Germany," he said. "There are different Catholicisms. ... They decide for themselves what to accept."
Benedict's supporters talk of a "Benedict effect," saying the German pope has put new energy into the local church, especially where young people are concerned. They point to the huge crowds for Benedict at World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005.
Curiosity about Benedict and his views has fueled sales of his books from his time as a cardinal, several of which have been republished in special editions and made the German nonfiction best-seller list.
Rainer Kampling, a professor of Catholic theology at Berlin's Free University, said Benedict stands out and gets people's attention because he is one of the few public figures arguing for traditional values in Germany.
"We have no conservative intellectuals in Germany; that is, none that play a public role," said Kampling. "He is the only intellectual with conservative values who addresses the public, and that makes a strong impression."
Sociologist Gebhardt, however, said studies of the young people at World Youth Day did not suggest that Benedict was giving lasting new momentum to the church. The Cologne gathering -- impressive as it was -- remained a one-off that did not propel people to become more deeply involved in parish life afterward.
"I would be very cautious with any theory of revitalization," he said.