According to information from “Welt”, the long-time private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, Georg Gänswein, is due to return to his home diocese of Freiburg – as a private citizen. Pope Francis has instructed the 66-year-old to leave Rome by July 1 at the latest, reports the paper.
According to information from the dpa, talks about the change are in progress, but have not yet been concluded.
The decision to do so was made in May at a private hearing on May 19, reports “Welt” and cites several high-ranking church sources. The decision would have been preceded by “a coming and going of several weeks”. Gänswein is said to have proposed several tasks. Francisco, on the other hand, thought about working as a professor of theology.
On May 17, two days before the Pope’s supposed decision, Gänswein spoke candidly about his future at an event organized by the Wiesbaden Press Club. At that time, he spoke of a “reflection phase” in which he and the Pope made proposals.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Freiburg said upon request that the diocese leadership could not comment on the report. It was not until mid-May that Gänswein presided over a service at Freiburg Cathedral.
Since the death of Benedict XVI. On New Year’s Eve 2022, Gänswein expected Pope Francis to give him a new task. He received it three times for an official private audience. There was speculation about a possible transfer to Costa Rica as Vatican ambassador or that Gänswein could become archbishop of Bamberg.
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01/02/2023 | 01:13min
Gänswein remained even after Benedict XVI’s resignation. in February 2013 as a private secretary alongside him. With the publication of a book entitled “Nothing but the Truth” about his time with Benedict XVI, Gänswein has recently caused a stir in the curia. In it he recounts his disappointment at being suspended by Francis as prefect of the papal household in 2020. He also published the contents of some of the Pope’s private letters.
It was not until mid-May that Gänswein presided over a service at Freiburg Cathedral. He is an honorary canon there. He also studied theology in Freiburg and was ordained a priest in May 1984. In 1995 he came to the Curia in Rome. Since March 2003, he has been private secretary to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected pope in 2005. Benedict XVI consecrated him bishop in 2013.