Bavaria? Liechtenstein? What will become of Archbishop Gänswein? – kath.ch
Georg Gänswein has been unemployed since New Year’s Eve. After the death of Benedict XVI. many are wondering what will become of the prominent churchman. At 66, he is too young to retire from the Archbishop’s office. The rumor mill is bubbling: he could become a bishop in Bavaria – or archbishop of Vaduz.
Severina Bartonitschek, Ludwig Ring-Eifel and Raphael Rauch
Archbishop Georg Gänswein was able to slip into his former role again on Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica. Next to the corpse of Benedict XVI. he spoke to guests of honor who had come beyond the long line of pilgrims to pay their last respects to the former Pope.
Glamor like before
The Italian President Sergio Mattarella was in St. Peter’s Basilica that morning, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also came, and then many more or less prominent faces from Italy and the Vatican.
Many condoled Gänswein, with some he spoke longer. A photo shows how he is talking to the head of government – just like in his fine years, when Gänswein was still the “Prefect of the Papal Household”.
A «servant of two popes»
At that time, the native of the Black Forest was a kind of head of the Vatican protocol. He escorted state guests such as US President Barack Obama or German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Pope. Benedict XVI had given him the important office of house prefect. shortly before his resignation from the papacy and promoted him to archbishop – knowing full well that he would soon no longer be pope himself.
After the election of Pope Francis, Gänswein was “servant of two popes” for seven years. He lived with the first pope in the small monastery “Mater Ecclesiae” in the Vatican Gardens, took care of the post for him and organized the numerous visits there. But in his main job he was still prefect of the papal house and for state visits as well as responsible for the small papal “court”.
2020: Francis disempowers Gänswein
The relationship between him and the Argentine pope was not without tension. Once Francis invited him out at short notice for a short-term appointment – since then it has been clear that there was a crunch. The break came when Francis officially “let him go” from the office of prefect in February 2020, so that he could probably devote himself entirely to the pope emeritus, whose health was already declining at the time.
This was preceded by a dispute over a book by conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah in defense of celibacy. First it was said that Benedict XVI. is a co-editor of the book – which the incumbent Pope apparently did not approve of. The role that Gänswein played has not been fully clarified to this day.
Too young for archbishop’s retirement
It is certain that he has not appeared as house prefect in the Vatican since spring 2020. However, the leave of absence was never “made official”. To this day, Gänswein is listed in the papal yearbook as prefect of the papal household – with no reference to his leave of absence. Therefore, a return to the active role of prefect is by no means out of the question.
In any case, at 66, Gänswein is too young to retire from the archbishopric, as that usually only occurs at the age of 75. That’s why Vaticanisti have been speculating for a long time about what Francis was in pettohut for him.
Bishop in Bavaria?
The recourse to historical precedents, which the Vatican likes to try, can also be helpful in the case of Gänswein. In view of the church-political situation, it is difficult to imagine that Francis would promote him to a single episcopal post at home – as Benedict did with his predecessor’s private secretary when he appointed Stanislaw Dziwisz archbishop of Kraków in June 2005.
A possible variant, however, would be the appointment of Gänswein as bishop in Bavaria. In contrast to other German states, the pope in the Bavarian dioceses is largely free to decide whom he appoints as bishop there.
Archbishop of Vaduz?
A second variant would be the Archdiocese of Vaduz. Archbishop Wolfgang Haas will turn 75 on August 7, 2023 and will then have to offer his resignation to Pope Francis. Unlike in Chur, where the cathedral chapter has the right to vote, in Vaduz the pope is completely free to appoint bishops.
This was recently confirmed by Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein. «The decision to appoint a new archbishop is solely in the hands of the Holy See. We do not have a right of proposal, as is sometimes the case in other dioceses, »said the hereditary prince in an interview last week with the Liechtenstein «Volksblatt».
Head of a pilgrimage site?
As a Black Forester, Gänswein would go well with the principality’s mentality. Things are more leisurely in Vaduz than in Rome. At funerals and weddings, however, Gänswein would come at the expense of glamor. After all, the principality belongs to the European aristocracy. When Princess Marie abdicated in 2021, the Queen of Spain came as a matter of course.
A step below would be the appointment as director of a large pilgrimage site, of which there are not only a few in Bavaria. In doing so, Gänswein would then follow in the footsteps of two papal private secretaries of the past decades.
Apostolic Nuncio?
John XXIII’s faithful assistant, Loris Capovilla, was succeeded by Pope Paul VI. first appointed archbishop of Chieti and later “pontifical delegate” for the large Italian Marian pilgrimage site of Loreto – and remained there until 1988. Then another former papal private secretary took over this position: Pasquale Macchi, who in turn was Paul VI. had served.
It would also be conceivable to send Gänswein as apostolic nuncio to an “appropriate” post – preferably in Europe or on the American continent. The polyglot ecclesiastical lawyer has gained plenty of experience on the diplomatic stage during his active time as Prefect of the Papal Household.
Teaching as a canon lawyer?
Another option would be to teach canon law at one of the Pontifical Universities in Rome. Incidentally, Gänswein is still a priest in the Archdiocese of Freiburg, where he was ordained in 1984. (cic/rr)
© Catholic Media Center, 01/02/2023
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