Gänswein named Prefect of Pontifical Household

(Vatican Radio) The Holy Father on Friday named Monsignor Georg Gänswein as Prefect of the Pontifical Household, at the same time elevating him to the titular see of Urbisaglia with the title of Archbishop.

Msgr Gänswein was born in 1956 in Waldshut, Germany. In 1984 he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau. Msgr Gänswein holds a degree in Canon Law from the Catholic Theology Faculty of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität of Munich.

After serving as a judge on the Diocesan Tribunal and a personal collaborator of the Archbishop of Freiburg, in 1995 he took up a position with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. One year later, he was transferred to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where he later became personal Secretary of the Prefect – at the time, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Since the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, Msgr Gänswein has continued to serve as his personal Secretary.