The Archbishop's Christmas

What’s it like spending the holidays with two popes? The prefect of the papal household clues us in.

- Ignazio Ingrao

History called him to be a discreet and crucial witness to unprecedented events. First there was the incident with the unfaithful butler, who stole documents from the desk of Pope Benedict XVI to give to the press. Then there was Pope Benedict’s untimely resignation. This was then followed by the election of the much-loved Argentinian Santo Papa, Pope Francis. These significant incidents led him to become the right hand man to both Popes Benedict and Francis, and it was at this point that his life of serving two popes in the Holy See started.

HANDSOME GEORG

We are talking about none other than Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who was born in a small town in the Black Forest in Germany, and who reluctantly ended up in the international spotlight. The press know him as Fr. Georg, the strikingly tall and attractive secretary of Pope Benedict— and the Curia’s resident George Clooney, admired and desired by women. But as soon as you talk to him, you realize that he is the furthest thing from the stereotype. Impervious to the sirens of worldliness and strict with himself, Fr. Georg lives a life of service to the Church.

HIS DOMAIN

He receives our team in a living room adjacent to his office, in the Prefecture of the Papal Household. It is the heart of the complex and the intricate machinery that handles papal audiences, visits of the heads of state, protocol, and diplomatic meetings. It is basically the crossroads where one can obtain access to the Pope.

It is here that we realize the gravity of Fr. Georg’s duties. His is an enormous job, and it is one that entails great trust. On top of that, in the evening, Fr. Georg takes on his previous role of special secretary to Pope Benedict, who lives in the monastery of Mater Ecclesiae atop the Vatican Hill.