Pope Francis received German Archbishop Georg Gänswein in an audience at the Vatican on Saturday, March 4. Gänswein served as the personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI for many years.
"The Holy Father Francis received His Excellency Monsignor Georg Gänswein, titular Archbishop of Urbisaglia, Prefect of the Pontifical Household, in an audience this morning," said the Vatican Press Office, without giving further details of the meeting.
This is the second time that the Pope has received Benedict XVI's secretary in an audience in recent months. The previous meeting took place on Monday, January 9, and like this occasion, no details of the meeting were made public. On Friday, March 2, Gänswein gave an interview to Italy's Rai Uno television, in which he responded to a question about whether his intention in publishing his memoirs was to stir up "a war between the internal factions of the Vatican."
"No. Regardless of the timing of the publication, I would have been criticized by anyone. My only goal was to provide clarity, even on some points where there were many problems," said Benedict XVI's secretary.
"Clarity means giving the truth to all those who wanted to know it. No wars, no factions. I wanted to give only my testimony of the real things that have happened," added the prelate. Gänswein's memoirs were published in January under the title "Nothing but the Truth: My Life with Benedict XVI," in which he shares a series of previously unknown details about Joseph Ratzinger's pontificate.
When asked about the reason for Pope Benedict's resignation, the Archbishop replied, "He himself said on February 11, 2013, that the reason was physical and psychological fatigue. I believe it because I have seen it and lived it all this time with him."
"Did Pope Francis no longer trust you?"
Gänswein smiled and commented, "This is an ironic question. I said it myself, when (the Pope) told me three years ago, 'now it is better for you to take care of Pope Benedict and stay in the monastery, and no longer come to serve here in the prefecture.'"
After his resignation, Pope Benedict XVI lived in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican.
"Pope Benedict himself said 'Pope Francis no longer trusts me,' and it also happened to me as a custodian, ironically, but I hope that Pope Francis trusts me," Gänswein recounted. "I hope I have never given him a reason not to trust me," the Archbishop emphasized.
When asked if he is faithful to Pope Francis, Gänswein replied, "Faithful and loyal. He is the Pope of the Catholic Church and the Successor of Peter. I have been faithful to all his predecessors."
Regarding what he will do in the future, the German prelate indicated that "the Holy Father will tell me that in a few days."
Walter Sanchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa. He has experience in researching and covering international ecclesiastical events such as World Youth Days (WYD) in Cologne 2005, Madrid 2011, and Rio 2013; the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American Episcopal Council in Aparecida; as well as the trips of Pope Benedict XVI in May 2007 to Brazil and in 2012 to Mexico. He covered Pope Francis' trip to South Korea in 2014 and the Synods of Bishops in the Vatican in 2015 (on the family) and 2019 (on the Amazon). He was also sent to cover the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and served as a field producer in Buenos Aires in 2013 for the documentary "Pope Francis: The Pope of the New World".
