Pope Benedict XVI’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, features on the cover of the Italian edition of ‘Vanity Fair’ magazine.
The appearance of a priest in a slot reserved for the world’s beauties is extraordinary, and Gänswein joins the ranks of a list that includes stars Raoul Bova, Robert Pattinson, Scarlett Johansson and Kate Winslet. In a nod to the unusual departure, the magazine cover shows a photograph of the silver-haired, blue-eyed Gänswein smiling above a cover line saying, “Father Georg: Being handsome isn’t a sin”.
The feature in ‘Vanity Fair’ relates the story of a man it describes as the “George Clooney of St Peter’s and Vatican’s number two”, who “receives love letters” from fans. It covers Gänswein’s life “from youthful dreams to palace intrigues”, the latter being a reference to the recent Vatileaks scandal that saw the papal butler jailed for releasing confidential documents.
On 6 January, the German-born Gänswein became the first personal secretary and Prefect of the Papal Household to be an archbishop. His promotion raised eyebrows among some church officials, who regarded the move as preferential treatment for one of the Pope’s favourites.
One of the most talked about Vatican personalities in the Italian tabloids, Gänswein is a keen tennis player, skier and aeroplane pilot, and his athleticism makes him appear the Vatican’s action man. Whether it’s Gänswein powerful position or his athletic good looks that caused ‘Vanity Fair’ to put him on the front cover is open to debate.
Such is the youthful-looking 56-year-old’s sex appeal that he has been dubbed ‘Il Bel Giorgio’ (Gorgeous Georg) and even the ‘Black Forest Adonis’. In 2008, the British newspaper ‘The Times’ described him as “the inspiration for the latest Versace look”.
Nevertheless, the rugged Gänswein takes his job seriously. Recently he said: “Personally, I saw my role or service to the Pope as being like a glass. The cleaner it is, the more it achieves its goal. I have to let in the sun, and the less glass there is, the better it looks. If you don’t see well, it just means that it serves his job well.”
