After the death of Pope Benedict XVI in December 2022, Archbishop Gänswein concluded his role as prefect of the Pontifical Household. In June 2023, Pope Francis directed the German prelate to return to the Diocese of Freiburg.
Photo: Vatican Media.
Vatican City (06/24/2024 13:26, Gaudium Press) On the morning of Monday, June 24, Pope Francis appointed the German Archbishop Georg Gänswein as apostolic nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.
Archbishop Gänswein Was Benedict XVI’s Secretary Since 2003
The prelate is the emeritus prefect of the Pontifical Household and for years was the personal secretary of Benedict XVI. Archbishop Gänswein’s appointment as the new representative of the Holy Father to the three Baltic countries was announced by the Holy See Press Office.
After the death of Pope Benedict XVI in December 2022, Archbishop Gänswein concluded his role as prefect of the Pontifical Household but continued to reside in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where Ratzinger had lived since his resignation. In June 2023, Pope Francis directed the German prelate to return to the Diocese of Freiburg, where he is originally from.
Pope Francis’s Meeting with Archbishop Gänswein
On January 3, 2024, Francis received Gänswein in a private audience after he had returned to the Vatican to celebrate a Holy Mass on the first anniversary of Benedict XVI’s death.
Until last year, the Archbishop Petar Rajič, a Canadian of Bosnian-Croatian origin, was the nuncio to the three Baltic countries (Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia). However, on March 11, Pope Francis appointed him as the Holy See’s ambassador to Italy and San Marino, leaving the post vacant. (EPC)
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
