German archbishop prepares to become Vatican's envoy to Baltics

Georg Gänswein, the confidante of the former German pope, presented his credentials to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Vilnius on Friday to become the Vatican's ambassador in the region.

Gänswein, former pope Benedict XVI's long-time secretary, has completed his inaugural visit to the Baltic states and is to represent the interests of the Holy See in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.

Pope Francis appointed Gänswein as the apostolic nuncio in mid-June. The archbishop previously served for more than 10 years as Prefect of the Papal Household.

Now a new task awaits Gänswein in the Baltic states. Of the three Baltic states, Roman Catholicism is particularly influential in Lithuania.

In Latvia, the population is predominantly Lutheran, while in Estonia, the majority of people say they do not identify with any religion.