Archbishop Gaenswein at anniversary event to reflect on Benedict’s legacy

(31 Dec 2023) AGENCY POOL Vatican City, Vatican - 31 December 2023 1. Various of Archbishop George Gaenswein arriving and praying at the tomb of Pope Benedict XVI in the grottoes under St. Peter’s Basilica 2. Close up tomb of Pope Benedict XVI 3. Archbishop George Gaenswein leaving the tomb of Pope Benedict XVI ASSOCIATED PRESS Vatican City, Vatican - 31 December 2023 4. Close up of Archbishop George Gaenswein next to picture of Benedict XVI 5. SOUNDBITE (German) Archbishop George Ganswain: "After a year of death, one wonders what will remain of Benedict's legacy? I am convinced that three words that he himself spoke as his last words, Lord, I love you, will remain. And that is the title of what will gradually remain of his work as a bishop and as Pope. A great theologian, a very simple man and a man of deep faith. This trio will accompany people and their faith." 6. Archbishop Ganswain speaking with journalists 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Archbishop George Ganswain: "I'm sure that he said that in the last homily, that he will pray for the church, for his successor, and have done that. The polemics of a year later on, I mean, polemics also not really, but polemics between two realities. And that's for the media also a very interesting thing. I think history will judge. And history is the objective judge." 8. Close up of Ganswain 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Archbishop George Ganswain: "I pray that he will be a saint. I wish he would be a saint, and I'm convinced he will be a saint. That's my personal opinion." (Journalist: "Do you miss him?") "Very. it’s not easy." 10. Banner with Benedict XVI pictures 11. Wide audience clapping hands at the end of conference STORYLINE: Tributes poured in Sunday on the first anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XVI, with Pope Francis praising his love and wisdom and his private secretary expressing hope he might one day be declared a saint. Speaking at the end of his weekly noon blessing, Francis said the faithful feel “so much love, so much gratitude, so much admiration” for Benedict. He asked asked for a round of applause from the pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, for his part, celebrated an anniversary Mass for Benedict in the basilica, and then participated in an anniversary event to reflect on Benedict’s legacy. Speaking on the sidelines, Gaenswein acknowledged some of the polemics that surrounded his 10-year retirement alongside Francis in the Vatican, but said they would be forgotten in favor of the substance of his life and his final words: “Lord, I love you.” History, Gaenswein said, would judge Benedict as a “great theologian, a very simple person and a man of deep faith.” Benedict, the first pope to retire in six centuries, died last Dec. 31 at the age of 95 in the Vatican monastery where he spent 10 years as a pope emeritus. He buried in a tomb in the grottoes underneath St. Peter’s Basilica. Francis frequently praised Benedict’s decision to retire as courageous. But now that he has died, Francis has reaffirmed the papacy is generally a job for life and a consensus has emerged that the unprecedented reality of having two popes living side by side in the Vatican created problems that must be addressed before any future pope decides to step down. Benedict remained a point of reference for conservatives and traditionalists, who have only increased their criticism of Francis in the year since he has died. Francis, for his part, has appeared now to be more free to impose his progressive vision of a reformed church. AP video by Luigi Navarra Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...