Georg Gänswein

Pope Benedict announced on 11 February 2013 that he was resigning on 28 February. Gänswein moved with the Pope emeritus to Castel Gandolfo then while continuing in his role as head of the Pontifical Household.[12]

Msgr Gänswein greeting Malteser International helpers in 2006

Gänswein said he had known about the Pope's plan to resign for "quite some time beforehand" and had tried to change his mind, but "Pope Benedict had reached a decision. He was not to be shaken", he said.[13] He said the news felt like "an amputation" and that "Accepting and coming to terms with my new role is painful". He resented that the press welcomed Pope Francis’ decision not to live in the papal apartments and said that "Benedict didn’t live in the papal apartments for egotistical reasons – he was also very modest". After several months working for Francis he said "At the beginning of each day, I find myself once again waiting to see what will be different today". Then in the evening after 9 pm he handles Benedict's affairs and correspondence.[14]

On the first anniversary of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Gänswein said that "I am certain, indeed convinced, that history will offer a judgment that will be different than what one often read in the last years of his pontificate because the sources are clear and clarity springs from them."[15] In 2016 he said that "Vatileaks" or other issues had "little or nothing" to do with Benedict's resignation. Gänswein said that Francis and Benedict are not two popes "in competition" with one another, but represent one "expanded" Petrine Office with an "active" member and a "contemplative" one. He said that Benedict had not abandoned the papacy like Pope Celestine V in the 13th century but rather sought to continue his in a more appropriate way given his frailty and that "Therefore, from 11 February 2013, the papal ministry is not the same as before. It is and remains the foundation of the Catholic Church; and yet it is a foundation that Benedict XVI has profoundly and lastingly transformed by his exceptional pontificate."[16]

In January 2015 Gänswein denied a rumour that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had met the previous fall with conservative cardinals concerned that the Synod of Bishops on the Family might allow civilly remarried Catholics access to the Eucharist. He called it "pure invention". He said Francis' renewed emphasis on pastoral care meant no change in doctrine and said: "The pope is the first guarantor and keeper of the doctrine of the Church and, at the same time, the first shepherd, the first pastor."[17]

In July 2017, some commentators interpreted a statement by Benedict as criticism of Francis. Gänswein called them "stupid people" and said they engaged in "fantasy". He said that "The emeritus pope was deliberately exploited" and that "They want to exploit him. But all this will be useless."[18]

In 2019 he said a claim put forward by a Brazilian synod father that Benedict XVI revised canon law in 2009 to allow the ordination of women deacons is “totally absurd and wrong.” Archbishop Gänswein said he had not spoken to the Pope Emeritus about the matter and his comments “come only from me.” His remarks come after Bishop Evaristo Pascoal Spengler of Marajó, Brazil, told reporters that the synod had opened a path to the ordination of women deacons due to a 2009 decree.[19]

In January 2020, Gänswein asked Cardinal Robert Sarah to have his publishers remove Pope Benedict's name as co-author with Sarah of a book about priestly celibacy, and to remove Benedict's name as author of the book's introduction and conclusions. He said Benedict had not participated in the writing nor authorized the use of his name. He characterized the problem as "a question of misunderstanding, without casting doubt on the good faith of Cardinal Sarah".[20] Sarah had already denied that characterization of Benedict's role,[20] but then asked his publishers to make changes in how Benedict's participation was represented, though his U.S. publisher refused to make any adjustment.[21]

Following his dispute with Sarah, Gänswein ceased to perform the public functions of his position as prefect of the papal household. He no longer appeared alongside Pope Francis at the pope's weekly audiences, nor greeted heads of state and the pope's other most important visitors. His title did not change. The Holy See Press Office said Gänswein's role reflected a "redistribution of the various commitments and duties" of papal household staff.[22]

Archbishop Gänswein escorts President Obama to an audience with Pope Francis

In March 2014 he said he was shocked by the election of Pope Francis. Asked on ZDF on 13 March whether the election of Pope Francis at the conclave the previous year had surprised him, Archbishop Gänswein said, “Well, yes, as I had favoured other candidates – I was wrong – but then so were other people.” He went on to say that at the moment the Pope is the darling of the media “but that won’t always be the case”. The Pope is not “everybody’s darling”, he said.[23]

Archbishop Gänswein said that marriage cannot be dissolved and that "starting a new union contradicts what the Lord has indicated". He made the remarks in an interview with Chi magazine, excerpts of which were released in advance on the fringes of a synod of bishops on the family that opened 6 October 2014 in the Vatican. Asked about the question of possibly allowing divorced people to take communion, Gänswein said "this is a very delicate question, at stake is the sacramental matrimony that according to Catholic doctrine cannot be dissolved, just like the love of God for man" "As far as I can see Pope Francis is following the line of his predecessors whose teaching on matrimony is very clear".[24]

Gänswein said: “I personally can see no significant reason which would necessitate a reform of the Curia at the moment. One or two changes have been made but that is part of the normal run of things. To speak of ‘Curial reform’ is, if I may so, somewhat of an exaggeration.” Asked whether the Vatican and the church in general are polarised at the moment, he said "There is no polarisation as far as I can see and I haven’t experienced any. Certain measures here and there have been criticised and if the criticism is justified, that can surely benefit the general climate."[25]

In 2017, asked about the dismissal of Cardinal Gerhard Müller from his post as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Gänswein said: "I don't want to comment on a papal staff decision. But when I heard about it I was really most upset. He is, after all, a close personal friend."[26]