After his expulsion from the Vatican, the archbishop and former confidant of Pope Benedict XVI. found a new job. In the future, he will regularly lead church services in Freiburg.
This is the result of a conversation between Gänswein and the Archbishop of Freiburg, Stefan Burger, as announced by the archdiocese on Monday. During the conversation on Friday, it was also agreed that the honorary canon in Freiburg Münster would take over local festive confirmations or services, he said.
➤ Gänswein: “I hope and pray that there will be no schism in the church”
As expected, Gänswein will not assume any position in the ordinariate or any other permanent position in the Archdiocese of Freiburg.
Pope’s Private Secretary
Gänswein was private secretary and confidant of the German Pope Benedict XVI for many years. and cared for the emeritus pontiff until his death on New Year’s Eve 2022.
The relationship between the current Pope Francis and Gänswein has been tense for many years because Benedict XVI frequently spoke out after his resignation on Church political issues and criticized his successor’s course.
The 66-year-old returned to live in Freiburg for a few days after the Pope decreed in mid-June that Gänswein must move to the big city of Breisgau. “I am a nuisance in the sense that I am a nuisance, I got into this situation. I promised to remain silent and obey,” the minister said before his meeting with Archbishop Burger.
He feels at home in his new home, probably also because it was his home before, as he explains: “Freiburg is beautiful, I studied here for 40 years, life is good here. Have you seen the water channels? If you add it above, they are 60 kilometers long. And then there is excellent wine, better than Italian wine. Wine from here, not all German wine.”