A statement on Monday released by the Holy See Press Office said Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Titular Archbishop of Urbisaglia, and Prefect Emeritus of the Papal Household, as Apostolic Nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.
Archbishop Gänswein, who is 67, served as Pope Benedict XVI’s private secretary during his entire pontificate and retirement.
In December 2012, Pope Benedict XVI also appointed him Prefect of the Pontifical Household. He was ordained as archbishop in January 2013.
He continued to hold both positions after Benedict resigned from the papacy about seven weeks later, in February 2013. For about seven years, Archbishop Gänswein served both Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict.
Until last year, the Apostolic Nuncio in the three Baltic countries was Archbishop Petar Rajič, a Canadian of Bosnian-Croatian origin, who was appointed by the Holy Father, on March 11, as the Nuncio to Italy and San Marino. Consequently, the Apostolic See has remained vacant until now.
