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POPE BENEDICT XVI’s closest confidant Georg Gaenswein will continue to be the soon-to-be former pope’s secretary while also overseeing the new pope’s household, the Vatican has said.
“He will remain prefect of the papal household and will also be secretary to Benedict,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said at a press briefing.
“He has informed us he will take up residence with Benedict” in a monastery within the Vatican walls that is currently being renovated, Lombardi said.
Monsignor Gaenswein will therefore hold a dual role as part of an unprecedented situation in the history of the Catholic Church in which a pope and his predecessor will live within a stone’s throw of each other.
The Vatican has hinted that Benedict could continue to have a behind-the-scenes spiritual role as guide for his successor. The 85-year-old pope himself has said he will live “hidden from the world”.
Lombardi said Benedict’s four housekeepers – pious lay women known as “Memores Domini” – would also continue to work for the ex-pope in his new residence, a picturesque spot in Vatican City surrounded by flower beds.
Benedict promoted Gaenswein to prefect of the papal household in December – a move interpreted now as a key part of his plans to resign.
Background
Like the pope, Gaenswein is German and has an academic background, with a doctorate in canon law. The son of a blacksmith, he was ordained in 1984 and rose through the ranks to become Joseph Ratzinger’s secretary in 2003.
When Ratzinger was elected to the papacy in 2005, he kept the trusted Gaenswein by his side, propelling him into the limelight, much to the delight of the international media, instantly smitten by the pope’s dashing assistant.
A refreshing change from the elderly dignitaries populating the often staid world of the Vatican, the 56-year-old, who can be seen constantly at the pope’s side, has a pilot’s licence, skis in his spare time and is a Pink Floyd fan.
Gaenswein also played a pivotal role in the investigation that identified the pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, as the source of a series of damaging leaks of confidential papal documents that rocked the Vatican last year.
Gaenswein testified at Gabriele’s trial, an unprecedented court case in modern Church history where it emerged that he had suspicions on the butler’s guilt all along in a scandal that has come to be known as “Vatileaks”.
The scandal has been seen by many observers as one of many factors that helped Benedict come to the conclusion that he should step down.
The pope was said to be personally shaken by the betrayal of his butler.
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Could ye not have found a better photo lads.
@Honeybadger197: good effort HoneyBadger but that’s still only an “artist’s rendition”
@Jazz Buckler: Sure tip down with your camera so…
@Red hurley: next Dun Laoghaire baths? But heated from solar power as I still remember how cold it was learning to swim as a kid.
@Honeybadger197: no pleasing some people!
@Suzie Sunshine: Yep!
@Honeybadger197: The aesthetics are only a curiosity. The facility is the main draw, so I’ll be going irregardless when it opens
How long until someone trips and sues the Corpo? I’d say three months.
@Jazz Buckler: Few pints!
@Suzie Sunshine:
It wasn’t a personal comment – was just pointing out it wasn’t a photo ffs Jeez! God how people just enjoy stirring up shit by projecting good vs evil on stuff
@Jazz Buckler: and irony of that is it’s still a building site so no photos possible
Great – just in time for the winter. Amazing planning.
@Conor Byrne: well Sept onwards is when seawater is at its warmest y’know…
@Conor Byrne: At least you can have a beer whilst you waiting. Lol
Great idea.. Amazing some people on here still manage to complain..
@Will: they’re Shinners and Looney Left.
David Cullen jnr ..Didn’t his daddy David Cullen Snr go bankrupt and transfer property into his family’s name …and owe NAMA 28 million ??? They always surface in the end !!
@Steve Austin: if you fall off the horse , you just get back on.
Most people who lose their job , eventually go back to what they were doing , it’s what they know.
Many developers went bust because people simply couldn’t borrow money anymore. Not because of what they were doing was bad.
People have access to money , developers can develop
If you live in Wicklow the last place you’re going to go for a swim is Clontarf
@Random_paddy: if you live in Clontarf, the last place you’re going to go for a swim is Wicklow
I remember many years ago swimming in Clontarf baths. It was a hot day and a few friends and I cycled down to spend the afternoon swimming and sunbathing. After braving the cold water I swam a length of the pool and stopped to catch my breath. There, right in front if me was a disgusting, revolting human poo……floating serenely along without a care in the world. I made a very hasty exit, cycled home at olympic speed and spent an hour in the shower! I also rinsed my mouth with listerine until it almost bled. No fancy facelift will erase that memory for as long as I live! I have never swam in a sea pool since. Traumatised doesn’t even touch the edges!!!
@Elizabeth Gregory: Shit happens
@Barry Tallon:
@Elizabeth Gregory: how do you know the difference between a human poo and a seals poo?
Just in time for autumn: genius!
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