Archbishop Georg Gänswein in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 25, 2019. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Vatican City, Apr 21, 2022 / 05:30 am (CNA).
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, has been in isolation for the past ten days after testing positive for COVID-19, according to German media.
The German news agency, Katholisch.de, reported April 20 that Gänswein has been in isolation since April 11, a time period that included all of the Easter Triduum and Benedict XVI’s 95th birthday.
Benedict XVI has tested negative for COVID-19, according to Gänswein, as have all other residents of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, the retired pope’s residence inside of Vatican City.
While the 65-year-old personal secretary was unable to join the pope emeritus in celebrating his 95th birthday on Holy Saturday, Pope Francis paid a visit to Benedict XVI’s residence ahead of his birthday on April 13.
Gänswein has said that both he and Benedict XVI have received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
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CNA Staff, May 29, 2024 / 12:25 pm (CNA).
The Diocese of Fresno, California, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid more than 150 child abuse claims filed against it, Bishop Joseph Brennan said this week. The … […]
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti performs the washing of feet ritual for laypersons during the Holy Thursday Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, April 17, 2025. / Vatican Media / Screenshot
CNA Newsroom, Apr 17, 2025 / 17:18 pm (CNA).
During the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti reflected on Jesus’ humble act of washing His disciples’ feet, calling the Church to become a Eucharistic people who serve with love rather than seeking power or profit.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, urged Catholics to reject a world that “betrays” people for economic gain and power, instead embracing the “power of service” exemplified by Christ washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper.
Clergy carry vessels with water and towels for the foot washing ritual during Holy Thursday Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, April 17, 2025. Zofia Czubak / EWTN News
The prelate presided over the Mass in Coena Domini on April 17 at St. Peter’s Basilica, which included the traditional washing of feet ceremony with laypeople who work in or frequent the basilica.
“The world too often betrays us, hands us over, for some profit, economic or power-based,” Cardinal Gambetti said in his homily. “Against this logic — which fuels the conflicts of our time — stands a new kind of power, rooted in service and embodied by Jesus, the concrete expression of the ‘dynamism of proximity.’”
The cardinal began his reflection with the origins of Passover in Egypt, noting that the Jewish celebration arose not in triumph but “amid slavery, oppression, and suffering.” He explained the Hebrew term “Pesach” means “to leap, to protect,” illustrating how “God dances before homes to protect the humble and poor who trust in him, while death passes by.”
Drawing parallels between the first Passover and Christ’s own Passover, Gambetti emphasized that Jesus celebrated with His disciples amid hardship, “injustices, harassment, slander, illness, violence, fear, and solitude.” Yet Jesus “ardently desired intimacy and familiarity” with His followers despite knowing betrayal was imminent.
“The group around Him is human,” the cardinal said, “imperfect, diverse. Some impulsive, some proud, some fearful. But all of them are loved.”
Faithful pray during the Holy Thursday liturgy at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, April 17, 2025. Zofia Czubak / EWTN News
Cardinal Gambetti noted that contemporary society mirrors the ancient pattern of betrayal, where everything is commodified “on the basis of a cost-benefit relationship, for some profit, economic or power-based.” He lamented that compassion is lacking for “the marginalized, migrants, the environment,” while wars reflect “the decline, the concretion of conflicts and evil in the world.”
The cardinal pointed to Jesus as the antidote to both ancient and modern corruption. “The only thing that interests Him is love,” Gambetti said. “This is the only priesthood. He washes feet, even Judas’s feet. He washes my feet. He washes your feet.”
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti kneels to wash the feet of laypeople during the traditional Holy Thursday ritual at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, April 17, 2025. Zofia Czubak / EWTN News
Following the final prayer, a procession led by Cardinal Gambetti accompanied the Blessed Sacrament to a chapel prepared for adoration, with the Cappella Giulia, the historic choir of St. Peter’s, singing “Pange Lingua.”
The Vatican noted that this musical tradition dates back to 1513, when Pope Julius II reorganized the ensemble that continues to preserve “note by note, the beauty of the liturgy.”
Vatican City, Jul 9, 2022 / 05:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis expressed his condolences at the assassination of Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, who was shot on Friday while giving a speech in the city of Nar… […]
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