Georg Gänswein, private secretary of the late Pope Benedict XVI, taken after an interview with the German Press Agency. © Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
Drumbeat in the Vatican: Georg Gänswein has to leave Rome, apparently on the instructions of Pope Francis.
Rome/Freiburg – The long-time private secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, Georg Gänswein, is to return to his home diocese of Freiburg, according to information from the daily newspaper "Welt" – and without office. Pope Francis had instructed the 66-year-old to leave Rome by July 1 at the latest, the newspaper reported on Friday. According to dpa information, talks are underway about the change, but these have not yet been completed.
Ex-Benedict confidant Gänswein to go to Freiburg
The decision was made in May at a private audience, reports Die Welt, citing several high-ranking church sources. The decision is said to have been preceded by "several weeks of back and forth". Gänswein is said to have proposed various tasks. Francis, on the other hand, had thought of working as a professor of theology. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Freiburg said on request that the diocesan leadership could not comment on the report. It was only in mid-May that Gänswein led a church service in Freiburg Cathedral.
Since the death of Benedict XVI on New Year's Eve 2022, Gänswein had been waiting for Pope Francis to assign him a new task. Three times he received him for an official private audience. There has been speculation about a possible transfer to Costa Rica as Vatican ambassador or that Gänswein could become Archbishop of Bamberg.
