Archbishop Gänswein, the former private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, has a new assignment. Francis is sending him as his Ambassador to the Baltic countries: he will be nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
Although it was rumored that Francis would give him a nunciature somewhere in the world, the Vatican has made it official with this statement.
The relationship between Gänswein and Francis has been complicated, even tense at times. In his last book-interview, the Argentine pontiff said that Gänswein did not make it easy for him at times.
JAVIER MARTÍNEZ-BROCAL
Author, “El Sucesor”
Pope Francis was very hurt that just hours after the funeral of Benedict XVI, a book was published with criticisms of him and with private correspondence of Benedict XVI, which is the book of his secretary, Georg Gänswein. He says that this did not affect him, in the sense that it did not condition him, but that he understood it as a rather painful gesture. And I think that explains why he took the measures he did.
Gänswein was prefect of the Pontifical Household from 2012 officially until February 2023. However, he had stopped appearing publicly with Francis much earlier, in 2020.
The former secretary was known to have devoted himself entirely to Benedict XVI, which he recounts in his book.
Six months after the death of Benedict XVI, Gänswein's time at the Vatican came to an end. The Holy See announced that he would return on July 1, 2023, to his home diocese in Germany. Almost a year has passed and now Gänswein will move to northern Europe, where he will be the diplomatic nuncio in a post that has been vacant since March 11.
CA
