Pope Benedict XVI has given a job to his late former secretary as an obvious sign of reconciliation. He argued with the bishop after they had a public fall out.
According to a statement from the Vatican Press Office on Monday, Archbishop Georg Gainswein, 67 years old, was named “ambassador” to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
In June 2023 Gainswein was sent back to Germany by Francis without any further assignments which were widely understood as an insult.
Francis mentioned in his book published this year that he never liked German Gainswein who served as an assistant to Pope Benedict.
He specifically referenced the archbishop’s memoirs which were published soon after Benedict XVI’s burial in January 2023 and contained harsh words against Francis.
“It is very sad for one to write a book that cuts me down on the day of the funeral and says things that are not true,” said Pope Francis.
Both Francis and Benedict lived in the Vatican during what became known as “the two popes” era which began with Benedict’s resignation in 2013, first pope to resign so in about six hundred years.