Private Secretary to the Pope

Private Secretary to the Pope is an official of the Roman Curia that serves the Pope. The current Private Secretary is Edgard Ivan Rimaycuna Inga, appointed by Pope Leo XIV.[1] Since September 2025, he has been supported by Father Marco Billeri as second private secretary.[2]

List of private secretaries to the Pope

Number Secretary Pope Years
1 Giovanni Bressani Pius X 1903-1914
2 Attilio Bianchi Benedict XV 1914-1917
3 Carlo Confalonieri Píus XI 1922-1939
4 Robert Leiber, SJ Píus XII 1939-1958
5 Loris Francesco Capovilla John XXIII 1958-1963
6 Pasquale Macchi Paul VI 1963-1978
7 Diego Lorenzi, F.D.P. John Paul I 1978
8 Stanisław Dziwisz
John Paul II
1978-2005
9 Georg Gänswein[3] Benedict XVI 2005-2013
10 Alfred Xuereb[4] Francis 2013-2014
11 Fabián Pedacchio[4] 2014-2019
12 Gonzalo Aemilius, S.J.[5] 2020-2023
13 Daniel Pellizzon[6] 2023-2025
14 Juan Cruz Villalón [7][8] 2020-2025
14 Edgard Ivan Rimaycuna Inga[1] Leo XIV 2025 - present

List of second private secretaries to the Pope

N.º Secretary Pope Years
1 John Magee, S.P.S. Paul VI 1970-1982
John Paul I

John Paul II
2 Emery Kabongo Kanundowi 1982-1987
3 Vincent Tran Ngoc Thu 1988-1996
4 Mieczysław Mokrzycki 1996-2007
Benedict XVI
5 Alfred Xuereb 2007-2013
6 Fabián Pedacchio Leaniz[4] Francis 2013-2014
7 Yoannis Lahzi Gaid[4] 2014-2020
8 Fabio Salerno[9] 2020-2025
9 Marco Billeri[2] Leo XIV 2025-present

References

  1. ^ a b Provincias, Las. "Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga, chi è l'uomo-ombra di Prevost dal Perù a Roma: sarà segretario particolare di Papa Leone XIV". www.open.online (in Italian). Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  2. ^ a b Mancini, Marco (2025-09-27). "Pope Leo XIV appoints new personal secretary". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  3. ^ Provincias, Las. "Gänswein, el fiel secretario que le seguirá en su retiro". www.lasprovincias.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "AICA: Un argentino al frente de la secretaría personal del Papa". www.aica.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Padre Gonzalo Aemilius es el nuevo secretario particular del Papa - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va (in Spanish). 26 January 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  6. ^ "El sacerdote argentino Daniel Pellizzon, nuevo secretario del papa Francisco". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 17 July 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Quién estuvo al lado del Papa Francisco hasta el final: los tres sacerdotes secretarios, las monjas y el enfermero que le había "salvado la vida"". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2025-04-22. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  8. ^ "La «familia» que cuidó del Papa en sus últimos días". La Razón (in Spanish). 2025-04-23. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  9. ^ "Don Fabio Salerno nuevo secretario del Papa tras concluir su servicio p. Gaid - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va (in Spanish). 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.