Benedict XVI’s former secretary in Rome: reconciliation with Francis, traditional Mass, and canonization of Joseph Ratzinger
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, former secretary of Benedict XVI, made a discreet visit to the Vatican in December 2025. Gänswein had a private audience with Pope Leo XIV shortly after publicly advocating for the beatification cause of Benedict XVI. The Archbishop attended the Vatican’s Christmas Concert, where Maestro Riccardo Muti received the Ratzinger Prize from Pope Leo XIV. Gänswein presided over a Mass near the tomb of Benedict XVI as the third anniversary of the late Pope's death neared. Gänswein confirmed reconciling with Pope Francis in November 2024 following a private audience where personal forgiveness was requested.
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Archbishop Georg Gänswein, former secretary to Benedict XVI, visited Rome in mid-December 2025.1
He held a private audience with Pope Leo XIV shortly after publicly hoping for Benedict XVI's beatification cause.1
Gänswein attended the traditional Christmas Concert in Paul VI Hall with Father Federico Lombardi.1
The event honored maestro Riccardo Muti, who received the Ratzinger Prize from Pope Leo XIV, highlighting continuity with Benedict's legacy.1
He later presided over a Mass in St. Peter’s Choir Chapel on the third anniversary of Benedict XVI’s death, followed by prayer at the tomb with Muti present.1
Gänswein confirmed reconciling with Pope Francis in a November 2024 private audience before Francis's death.1
The meeting addressed tensions from his 2023 book Nothing but the Truth, which criticized Francis, and included mutual requests for forgiveness.1
Gänswein urged Pope Leo XIV to lift restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass from Traditionis Custodes.1
He advocated restoring Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum framework to promote liturgical unity.1
Cardinals Raymond Burke, Robert Sarah, and Kurt Koch have echoed this call for reassessment.1
The book Nothing but the Truth emphasizes Benedict's focus on religious illiteracy and recovering knowledge of God.1
Gänswein portrays Benedict as a Scripture-shaped believer, linking personal loyalty to broader ecclesial renewal.1
His actions signal integration of Benedict's vision into the new pontificate under Leo XIV.1
Investigate canonization criteria for former popes in Catholic canon law
The process and criteria for the canonization of former popes in the Catholic Church are not detailed with unique provisions in the Code of Canon Law but are subsumed under the general regime for declaring servants of God as saints. Special pontifical law—distinct from the universal disciplinary norms of the 1983 Code—primarily governs these causes, with the Code applying only subsidiarily where explicitly referenced or inherently applicable. This framework ensures that canonization remains under the direct authority of the Holy See, emphasizing heroic virtue, miracles, and intercessory power as traditionally required, though specifics reside in papal norms rather than the Code itself.
Canon 1403 explicitly establishes the hierarchical structure of legislation for canonization:
Can. 1403 - § 1. Special pontifical law governs the causes of canonization of the servants of God. § 2. The prescripts of this Code, however, apply to these causes whenever the special pontifical law refers to the universal law, or norms are involved which also affect these causes by the very nature of the matter.
This canon places canonization outside the Code's ordinary scope, deferring to pontifical norms such as those issued by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints (formerly the Congregation). Former popes, as "servants of God" upon initiation of their cause, are not exempt or specially categorized; they undergo the same scrutiny as other faithful deceased. The subsidiary application of the Code might invoke procedural elements (e.g., investigations or proofs), but core criteria like moral integrity, faith, and miracles are defined elsewhere in papal documents.
No provision in the Code carves out exceptions for popes, despite their supreme office during life. For instance, while Canon 332 details the acquisition of papal power through election and consecration, it addresses governance, not post-mortem sanctification. Similarly, episcopal suitability norms (e.g., faith, morals, and prudence) apply to living bishops but do not extend to canonization.
The Code promotes veneration of saints as a means of sanctification, underscoring why rigorous criteria exist:
Can. 1186 - To foster the sanctification of the people of God, the Church commends to the special and filial reverence of the Christian faithful the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, Mother of God, whom Christ established as the mother of all people, and promotes the true and authentic veneration of the other saints whose example instructs the Christian faithful and whose intercession sustains them.
Canonization culminates in such public veneration, but the Code provides no explicit criteria list. Instead, it preserves continuity with tradition: prior laws are abrogated only if contradicted (Can. 6), customs beyond the law (praeter ius) endure (Can. 5 §2), and acquired privileges remain unless revoked (Can. 4). Thus, time-honored elements like requiring two miracles (one for beatification, one for canonization) persist via pontifical law, potentially informed by these canons.
The sources reveal no tailored criteria for former popes, such as waived miracles or expedited processes. Analogous requirements for ecclesiastical offices—e.g., communion with the Church, suitability, and freedom from simony (Can. 149)—or ordinations (integral faith, morals, and health per Cans. 1029 and 1051) highlight virtues expected in candidates for holy orders, which indirectly echo saintly qualities but do not govern canonization. Procedural proofs, like witness testimony for blessings (Can. 1209), might apply analogously but are peripheral.
This uniformity reflects the Church's principle that sainthood transcends office: popes like John Paul II or Pius X were canonized via standard processes post-resignation or death (cf. Can. 332 §2 on resignation). Controversies, such as historical claims of privileges, yield to modern pontifical norms, which supersede where conflicting.
While the Code frames canonization as a pontifical preserve, it lacks granular criteria (e.g., virtues, miracles), directing inquiry to special laws like Sanctorum Mater (2007) or updates therefrom. The provided sources affirm this subsidiarity without over-specifying, ensuring fidelity to Petrine authority.
In summary, canonization criteria for former popes mirror those for all servants of God: governed by special pontifical law per Can. 1403, with Code norms auxiliary; no unique papal exemptions apply, preserving equitable sanctity assessment rooted in faith, virtue, and divine confirmation.