GEORG GAENSWEIN

The archbishop of Austria has confirmed that it was he who wrote a letter to the future Pope Benedict XVI urging him to accept election as pontiff in 2005 if the votes went his way.

Pope Francis has met with Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Francis has met with Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope Francis met on Monday with Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI who was a key figure in his recent funeral but who has raised eyebrows with an extraordinary memoir in which he settles old scores and reveals palace intrigue. Speculation about Gaenswein’s future has swirled now that his main job tending to Benedict has come to an end following the pope emeritus' Dec. 31 death. In the text, Gaenswein reveals previously unknown details of some of the biggest hiccups of the last 10 years in which Benedict lived as a retired pope alongside Francis following his 2013 decision to retire, the first pope in six centuries to do so.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary has written a tell-all book that is coming out this month

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary has written a tell-all book that is coming out this month.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary has written a tell-all book that his publisher on Monday promised would tell the truth about the “blatant calumnies,” “dark maneuvers,” mysteries and scandals that sullied the reputation of a pontiff best known for his historic resignation. Archbishop Georg Gaenswein’s “Nothing but the Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict XVI” is being published this month by the Piemme imprint of Italian publishing giant Mondadori, according to a press release. Benedict died Saturday at age 95 and his body was put on display Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of a Thursday funeral to be celebrated by his successor, Pope Francis.

The death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has unfolded in an entirely un-papal-like manner: There were no bells tolling in St. Peter's Basilica, no solemn announcement in a Vatican City square and no mobilizing of official delegations to Rome.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's longtime private secretary says the dying pope's last words were “Lord, I love you."

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s last words were “Lord, I love you,” his longtime secretary said Sunday, quoting a nurse who helped care for the 95-year-old former pontiff in his final hours. Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, a German prelate who lived in the Vatican monastery where Benedict took up residence after his 2013 retirement, said the nurse recounted hearing Benedict utter those words at about 3 a.m. Saturday.

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI turned 95 this past weekend.

Pope Francis is vowing to provide justice to victims of clergy sexual abuse after an independent audit faulted retired Pope Benedict XVI for having botched four cases of abuse when he was archbishop of Munich, Germany.

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014 file photo, Pope Francis, right, hugs Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI prior to the start of a meeting with elderly faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has marked the eighth anniversary of his historic resignation by insisting in an interview published in Corriere della Sera Monday, March 1, 2021, that he stepped down knowingly and that there is only one pope _ Francis. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribuROME – Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has marked the eighth anniversary of his historic resignation by insisting in an interview published Monday that he stepped down knowingly and that “there is only one pope” — Francis. But I did it fully conscious and I think I did the right thing,” Benedict was quoted as saying. Ad“They don’t want to believe in a choice that was taken knowingly,” Benedict was quoted as saying.