Don Giorgio marks silver jubilee
of ordination in his hometown
From the
8/24-8/25/09 issue of
In tomorrow's issue, the OR takes note, in a brief item with photo, of Mons. Gaenswein's personal milestone. He took his annual vacation after coming back from Les Combes with the Holy Father.
A family celebration for Mons. Georg Gaenswein, private secretary of Benedict XVI, who on August 23, in his hometown of Riedern in Germany, celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a priest.
At the Mass he celebrated at the local Church of St. Leodegar, many friends, relatives and townsfolk took part, including his mother Gertrud, shown in the photograph.
We have details of Mons. Gaenswein's Jubilee Mass from the blog of Angela Ambrogetti, and pictures are now available from two regional German newspapers:
From his Silver Jubilee homily:
The priest is like a lighthouse keeper
Translated from
August 25, 2009
At the grand celebration last Sunday in his Black Forest hometown of Riedern am Wald to mark the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, Mons. Georg Gaenswein, the Pope's private secretary, gave a homily on the function of priests.
He cited a well-known anecdote. One night, the captain of a warship found himself on what seemed to be a collision course with another ship. He called out orders for the other to change course and was enraged when it seemed he was being ignored. Finally, an answer came back from an ensign who called out, "I am the lighthouse keeper!"
That, Mons. Gaenswein said, was the function of a priest. "He is not a ship's captain who gives orders. Our strength does not come from external temporal sources of power. We annhounce an ideal which we ourselves strive to live up to all our life."
He added that on the sea of life, there are also cruisers and luxury ships occupied by 'those who forget God", as well as 'submarine Catholics" who only surface during major holidays and celebrations.
Mons. Gaenswein said Mass for more than 1500 of his townspeople, most of them assembled on the meadow surrounding the parish church of St. Leodegar in Riedern.
No cameras were allowed in the church, but the Mass was televised to a jumbo screen under a tent outside.
The church could only hold 200, most of them his relatives and friends, led by his mother Gertrud. His father, who has been ill for months, was unable to attend.
Photo shows a similar homecoming in 2007, with both parents leading the townsfolk to church.
Among his special guests were the Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela and Princess Gloria Thurn und Taxis.
Concelebrating the Mass were his 'Doktorvater' Winfried Aymans, who was his adviser for his doctoral dissertation in canon law from the University of Munich, along with a friend from the Roman Curia, Wilhelm Inkamp, who is a consultant to both the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood.
They said the Mass in Latin, and ad Orientem, although the Mass booklet for the occasion was bilingual. The choir sang Mozart.
After the Mass, local authorities paid tribute to their hometown celebrity, who said he was overwhelmed by the emotions of the day "in the place where I have my roots".
The town had prepared for the occasion for days, and local traffic virtually stopped that day. Afterwards, everyone proceeded to the Kreuz restaurant where the chef is a a cousin of the jubilarian priest.
Pictures below from 2007.
Over lunch, Mons. Gaenswein spoke of the year just past, recalling important episodes that he had shared in his position as the Holy Father's secretary, citing particularly the revocation of the Lefebrian bishops' excommunication and the Pope's pilgrimage to teh Holy Land.
His anual summer vacation, which started after he returned from Les Combes, ends this weekend. he was scheduled to spend four days in Salzburg for the summer music festival, then come back to Riedern to his parents; home before going back to Castel Gandolfo this weekend.
He may perform some baptisms at the monastsery near his home, where he usually says daily Mass at 9 a.m. when he is in Riedern.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 26/08/2009 12:34]