The news, after a minuet of announcements and denials, is now official: German Ernest von Freyberg is the new president of the IOR. The announcement was made by the spokesman of the Holy See, Father Federico Lombardi: "The Pope has expressed his full consent to the decision of the Commission of Cardinals".
The choice of von Freyberg came after a long selection and after nine months in which the Institute for Religious Works had not had a president. The decision was taken unanimously by the Commission chaired by Cardinal Bertone. The Belgian financier Bernard De Corte remains empty-handed, the great favorite of the eve.
Von Freyberg, 54, co-founder of DC Advisory Partners, is a practicing Catholic and belongs to the German branch of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Curious coincidence, if we can speak of coincidence, that the last audience granted by Pope Benedict XVI before his resignation was precisely that of the "knights of Malta".
“The other four members of the Board of Superintendence – reads the note released by the Holy See – keep their positions. This decision is the result of a deep evaluation”. Furthermore, Father Lombardi, in giving the news, also mentioned the possibility of a rotation between cardinals within the commission of supervision on the IOR. Any decision on this matter will in any case be communicated in the future.
