On the occasion of Georg Gaenswein's recent silver jubilee as a priest, Alessandra Borghese wrote a profile of him for GENTE, a PEOPLE-style Italian weekly. Here is a translation of the article as published on Alessandra's website.
But the illustrations are thanks to Beatrice who scanned them from the magazine and posted them on her site
25 years of priesthood:
A portrait of Mons. Gaenswein
by Alessandra Borghese
Translated from
GENTE
Issue of June 3, 2009
I have known Mons. Georg Gaenswein from when he was working at the Congregation for the Doctrine for the Faith - before he became the private secretary to then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
This to say that my sympathy and esteem for this young and cultured priest goes back some time. Over the years, I have had many occasions to meet him informally, if only because we have friends in common.
What fascinates me most about don Georg is his beautifully open face with its reassuring smile.
The other day, I received an e-mail invitation. In his usual quiet, spare and essential style, he informed me that on June 1 at 7 p.m., he would be celebrating Holy Mass in the Church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians in the Vatican, and that afterwards, friends and relatives would gather together for dinner at the Casina Pio IV in the Vatican Gardens.
A simple statement explained the reason for the invitation, and it struck me because, brief as it was, it seemed laden with emotion: "Twenty five years ago, I was ordained a priest!"
For don Georg, this anniversary is a moment for thanksgiving and reflection. His decision to become a priest had developed consistently - it was not a lightning bolt out of a clear blue sky.
Left photo, Georg at 18; right photo, with his fellow ordinands when he was ordained a deacon at age 24.
By the time he was 18, those who knew him already saw in his clear and transparent ways the roots of his confrontation with the priestly vocation.
"They were roots which just kept growing with the years and bearing good fruit," as he himself likes to say.
Initially, his family was not convinced about his choice, but they changed their mind after he showed that he did have a true and sincere vocation.
With his parents in a photo taken two years ago.
His relationship with his mother, which continues to be very strong, was decisive and fundamental in this. Don Georg describes her as "a lady who never asked or imposed anything, but who, above all, always knew how to answer her children's questions."
It would be easy to try and draw a balance sheet of don Georg's first 50 years of life - 25 of them as a priest - as he is one of the most high-profile monsignors in the Vatican.
Knowing him, I would say that he looks on this anniversary as a take-off point rather than a point of arrival. The young Gaenswein certainly never planned to end up in Rome and become the closest collaborator of the Pope. Indeed, he has never hidden his emotion and surprise to find that 'his' cardinal had been elected Pope.
On more than one occasion, I have heard him say that he never made any specific plans for himself but always simply followed orders from his superiors.
I remember once when he had to address a group of young men who were still intimidated by the thought of eventually choosing the priestly vocation.
Don Georg, in a direct way and without skirting around, simply told them: "As the Lord taught, we can only gain life if we lose it!"
He added: "The moment of deciding what to do with one's life is, of course, most important - so if you decide something, you must do it with all your heart, from the depth of your soul. For this, one must know how to give oneself totally, not just a piece. Only then, you can achieve fullness".
I thought listening to him that he certainly had doctrinal clarity!
In the past few years, his external behavior has changed by force majeure, as it were. At the start, his open and cordial attitude to everyone was perhaps too ingenuous for someone in his position, leaving himself open to superficial criticisms. And so, he has become much more prudent.
But he has never hidden from friends his surprisingly constant emotion at being with the Pope, no matter how difficult his job is. To be with the Pope is not just a 'glamorous' task - he sees it above all as service, humility and total devotion.
Everything he does is for another person, which means he must renounce himself and his own desires. And yet, despite the pile of work to the done and the many commitments and appointments on the Pope's agenda, he does share intimate moments with the Pope - the daily morning Mass, praying the rosary together in the afternoons,
small talk over meals or while they take a daily walk in the gardens or on the roof terrace of the Apostolic Palace.
In the popular imagination, don Georg is often compared to Father Ralph in the famous novel and TV series
The Thorn Birds: beautiful but 'impossible'.
He knows that the physical aspect - which is a gift one receives gratuitously - may nonetheless be useful for pastoral work and announcing the Gospel. But certainly not as a source of pride nor arrogance. However, because of this, he has been the object of envy and victim of petty jealousies at the Vatican.
So, he tries to act in such a way that distinguishes who he is from the image that people wish to see in him. He bases his own discernment on the sincerity of his inter-personal relationships. He believes that "sincerity is proven with time and cannot be hidden".
Perhaps the aspect of him that is least-known to the public is his academic credentials. A doctor of Canon Law from the University of Munich
[also the Alma Mater of Joseph Ratzinger] , he was a professor of Canon law at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome, during which time he published 17 studies on canonical and theological subjects.
But I also think his sports personality had much to do with his human formation. He says "sport offers the possibility of competing with others in a positive way - it is a healthy way to relate to others and to measure oneself against others".
Obviously, he misses his beloved Black Forest native land, and when he speaks of it, his eyes do not hide his nostalgia.
His principal traits are seriousness, obstinacy and perseverance. And if we have to name a failing, it would be his lack of patience - in the sense that he is so determined to do things and see them realized as perfectly as possible that he cannot wait to see the outcome of his efforts.
In conclusion, Mons. Gaenswein is a completely realized man and even if he says he has no secret wishes, he will continue being talked about, and certainly, to distinguish himself in his service to the Church.
