Pope Francis directs Archbishop Gänswein to return to diocese of origin
June 15, 2023
» Continue to this story on Vatican Press Office
CWN Editor's Note: “On 28 February 2023, Archbishop Georg Gänswein concluded his office as Prefect of the Papal Household,” the Holy See Press Office announced on June 15. “The Holy Father has directed Archbishop Gänswein to return to his home diocese for the time being.”
The announcement confirms a German newspaper report stating that the former secretary to the late Pope Benedict XVI had been instructed to return to the Archdiocese of Freiburg, for which he was ordained in 1984.
Pope Benedict named Gänswein the Prefect of the Papal Household in December 2012 and consecrated him a bishop in January 2013—a month before the late Pope’s shocking resignation.
In 2020, Pope Francis reduced Archbishop Gänswein’s duties as Prefect of the Papal Household. The reduction in his role came shortly after he was caught in the middle of a controversy over the publication of a book defending the tradition of priestly celibacy.
In January, shortly after Pope Benedict’s death, Archbishop Gänswein published a memoir in which he divulged details about the relationship between Pope Francis and the Pope Emeritus.
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