Pope Leo XIV received Archbishop Georg Gänswein, titular of Urbisaglia and apostolic nuncio in Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, in audience this Friday. The meeting takes place a few days after the prelate, in an interview granted to the Catholic channel K-TV, expressed his hope that the beatification process of the emeritus Pope Benedict XVI be opened as soon as possible and that a return to the liturgical line of his pontificate be promoted.
The Church in the Baltic countries
Msgr. Gänswein—who was the personal secretary of Benedict XVI and today represents the Holy See in the three Baltic countries—is a diplomat with a singular trajectory within the contemporary Church. His audience with Leo XIV is interpreted in Rome as an ordinary continuity of his functions, which include strengthening bilateral relations between the Holy See and Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, as well as the pastoral accompaniment of Catholic communities in a specific cultural and social context.
A day with other relevant audiences
In addition to the meeting with Msgr. Gänswein, Pope Leo XIV held several audiences throughout the day. He received a delegation from the French Episcopal Conference headed by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, with whom he addressed the pastoral situation of the country. He also met with Msgr. Ricardo Basilio Morales Galindo, Bishop of Copiapó, to discuss matters related to ecclesial life in northern Chile, and held a working meeting with Fr. Hans Zollner, S.I., specialist in child protection. The day concluded with the visit of officials from the Italian intelligence services, an habitual institutional contact between the Holy See and the Italian State.