Pope’s secretary ‘Gorgeous Georg’ dazzles on the cover of ‘Vanity Fair’

Archbishop Georg Ganswein, Pope Benedict’s private secretary, who has been dubbed “Gorgeous Georg” by the Italian media, is now a real-life cover boy.

The prelate has landed on the cover of the Italian edition of Vanity Fair.

The cover shows the 56-year-old archbishop smiling, his blue eyes beaming, above a headline that reads: “Father Georg — It’s not a sin to be beautiful.”

A spokeswoman for the magazine said Ganswein was not interviewed for the article and did not pose for the photo, which she said was a close-up of an existing picture.

Ganswein — who has been Benedict’s personal secretary since the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in 2005 — was elevated to the rank of archbishop earlier this month.

A German like the Pope, he was also promoted to the job of prefect of the pontifical household, a position that will significantly increase his power as the Pope gets older and frailer.

As prefect, Ganswein will arrange all the Pope’s private and public audiences and his daily schedule.

And, because he will be keeping his job as chief private secretary, he will have even more power in deciding who has access to the 85-year-old Pope.

Vanity Fair said the article about Ganswein was a “close-up profile of a particular monsignor”.

Meanwhile, US defence secretary Leon Panetta, the leader of the world’s largest military, met Pope Benedict XVI for the first time in an audience at the Vatican yesterday.