Although the position of ghost writer does not
officially exist in the Vatican, the person in charge of coordinating
the preparation of the Pope’s speeches does act like a sort of ghost
writer.
Two weeks ago Francis appointed Giampiero Gloder as Bishop and
President of the Ecclesiastical Academy, the school that trains the
Vatican’s future diplomats.
Gloder worked with Benedict XVI during the
final years of his pontificate and assisted Francis from March until now.
Monsignor Paolo Luca Braida now takes over from
Gloder as coordinator of papal speech and homily writing. Mgr. Braida
was born in 1959, in the Italian diocese of Lodi. He was ordained priest
in 1987 and is a member of the Apostolic Chamber. He has also been head
of the Secretariat of State’s Italian section for about a year now. His
appointment comes as no surprise given that he has been contributing to
the preparation of the Pope’s speeches for some time now.
Mgr. Braida lives in St. Martha’s House and is the
nephew of a priest who dedicated his life to the apostolate in service
of the blind. The role of coordinator of papal text writing has grown in
importance as the Pope’s public commitments have increased and hence
the number of addresses made.
Towards the end of Paul VI’s pontificate
and throughout John Paul II’s pontificate, the role was held by Paolo
Sardi, who is now a cardinal. Then came the turn of Giovanni D’Ercole,
who is now Auxiliary Bishop of Aquila (Italy) and he was succeeded by
Gloder.
Some homilies and speeches are written by the Pope
in person. Other addresses are prepared by the Secretariat of State or
by other Vatican dicasteries and offices according to the Pope’s
instructions. Francis often speaks off-the-cuff, adding bits to his
speeches at the last minute.
On many occasions when he sets his written
speech aside, these are still considered as the words officially
pronounced by the Pope if they are delivered in some form or another to
the intended recipients. But this is not always the case.
When Francis
celebrated mass at Verano cemetery on Friday 1 November, he did not use
the prepared homily, which was not to be taken into consideration on
this occasion, the Vatican Press Office informed.
When the Pope travels to Italy or abroad or attends certain events,
local bishops are given the chance to present requests, make suggestions
and mention situations that should be taken into account during the
preparation of speeches.
Each Pope has his own style, his own language,
tone and points of emphasis.
Whoever collaborates in the preparation of
the Pope’s speeches needs to take this into account.