Germany Lithuania: Gänswein hands over credentials

The long-time confidant of Pope Benedict XVI, Georg Gänswein, has completed his inaugural visit as Vatican ambassador to the Baltic states. The 68-year-old churchman presented his credentials to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Vilnius on Friday. Gänswein will represent the interests of the Holy See in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia in the Lithuanian capital as the so-called Apostolic Nuncio.

Pope Francis appointed the long-standing private secretary of his predecessor Benedict XVI in mid-June after transferring him to Freiburg a year earlier - but without giving the former Vatican leader a position. Now a new task awaits Gänswein in the Baltic states. Of the three Baltic states, Lithuania in particular is dominated by Roman Catholics. In Latvia, the population is predominantly Protestant-Lutheran, while in Estonia the majority of people do not feel they belong to any religion.

SDA