Pope Francis appoints former secretary as nuncio to Baltic States

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Georg Gänswein, a former papal secretary who returned to Germany last year amid controversy, as ambassador to the Baltic states. This move is seen as a gesture of reconciliation, forgiving a colleague with whom he had a strained relationship. Local media have described the pope as "merciful."

According to Vatican News, the Vatican's official media outlet, on Monday, Archbishop Gänswein was appointed as papal nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. Archbishop Gänswein served as the long-time secretary to the late Pope Benedict XVI. After Pope Benedict XVI resigned in February 2013, Gänswein continued in his role, serving both the former and current popes for nearly seven years.

Following Pope Benedict XVI's death at the end of 2022, Archbishop Gänswein published a memoir titled "Nothing but the Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict XVI." The book revealed internal Vatican conflicts and dispelled the notion of a harmonious relationship between the two popes. Although he stopped serving as papal secretary in 2020 after the memoir's publication, he officially retained the position until last year.


Eun-A Cho achim@donga.com