(Vatican Radio) The Commission of Cardinals for the Institute for the Works of Religion
(I.O.R.) has appointed a new President of the Supervisory Board in the person of 54
year old German lawyer Ernst von Freyberg. The other four members of the Supervisory
Board all remain in office.
This decision is the result of extensive evaluation
and a series of interviews that the five member Commission of Cardinals has conducted,
with the constant support of the Supervisory Board. Vatican spokesman Fr Federico
Lombardi told journalists on Friday that the “painstaking and detailed process lasted
for some months”, making it possible to assess around 40 candidates “of professional
and moral excellence”, with assistance from Spencer and Stuart, a Frankfurt based
management consultancy firm.
Fr Lombardi added that the “Holy Father has closely
followed the entire selection process leading to the choice of the new President of
the Supervisory Board of the I.O.R., and he has expressed his full consent to the
choice made by the Commission of Cardinals.
As well as bringing with him a
vast experience of financial management, Ernst von Freyberg is an active member of
the Order of Malta and founding member of a foundation that supports Catholic organisations
in France, Germany and Austria.