Domenico Giani

Domenico Giani (born 16 August 1962) is an Italian security expert who was the Inspector General of the Corpo della Gendarmeria, the police and security force of Vatican City, and the chief bodyguard of Popes Benedict XVI and Francis, from 3 June 2006 to 14 October 2019.

Domenico Giani (2011)

Biography

Domenico Giani was born on 16 August 1962 in Arezzo, Italy.[1] He graduated with honors in pedagogy from the Faculty of Education of the University of Siena, he served as a non-commissioned officer and as an officer of the Guardia di Finanza. Then he worked in the Intelligence and Democratic Security Service, part of the Italian Intelligence Service.[1]

In 1999, Domenico Giani became the deputy to Camillo Cibin, longtime chief of the Vatican's police force, then known as the Security Corps of Vatican City State. He became its head on 3 June 2006, when it was known as the Corpo della Gendarmeria.[2] He headed a unit of 130 military-trained policemen.[3]

Giani tackled Susanna Maiolo twice in two separate attacks on Pope Benedict during Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in 2008 and 2009.[4]

Under his command, the Vatican City State became part of Interpol at the general assembly held in St. Petersburg on 7 October 2008. The Vatican was represented by Giani and Monsignor Renato Boccardo, Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State.[5][6] Giani was involved in 2013 in the interceptions concerning Monsignor Nunzio Scarano.

In early October 2019, at the request of the IOR, Pope Francis authorised the Gendarmerie to raid the offices of the Sostituto within the State Department as part of an investigation into financial irregularities related to a failed London real estate deal. Giani then authored an internal flyer that named and pictured five Vatican employees who were suspended as part of that investigation. That flyer was leaked to the Italian weekly magazine L'Espresso which published it. Though not associated with the leak, Giani resigned on 14 October to allow an impartial investigation to proceed.[7][8][lower-alpha 1] News coverage of his resignation resulted in additional dissemination of the names of those suspended.[10] On 15 October, Pope Francis appointed Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti, who had served as Giani's deputy since 2018, to succeed him.[11] The Pope also visited Giani, his wife, and one of their two children at their Vatican City home on the evening of 15 October to reiterate his appreciation for Giani's service.[12] Cardinal Angelo Becciu criticized Giani for creating the leaked document; he said a leaflet identifying the accused with mug shots in the style of a wanted poster was excessive.[13]

Notes
  1. La Repubblica reported that Pope Francis was displeased with the way Giani had conducted his investigation, especially the searching of offices on 2 October, and the leak provided an excuse for a dismissal that Giani was expecting, though not expecting so quickly.[9]

References
  1. "Rinunce e Nomine, 03.06.2006" (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  2. "New head for Vatican police". Catholic World News. 5 June 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
  3. "Commander of Vatican Gendarmerie: Here's how we protect the Pope". La Stampa. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  4. Glatz, Carol (28 December 2009). "Vatican to decide fate of woman who knocked pope down". The Catholic Transcript Online. Archdiocese of Hartford. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  5. "Il Vaticano aderisce all'Interpol". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). 28 September 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  6. "Gendarmeria Vaticana in festa per il Santo Patrono Michele Arcangelo. Annunciato l'ingresso del Vaticano nell'Interpol". Radio Vaticana (in Italian). 28 September 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  7. "Pope's Bodyguard Resigns Over New Financial Leaks Scandal". New York Times. Associated Press. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  8. "Domenico Giani Leaves Post as Commander of Vatican Gendarmeria". Zenit. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  9. Rodari, Paolo (14 October 2019). "Vaticano, lascia il generale Giani. Il suo vice diventa capo della sicurezza". La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  10. Marroni, Carlo (14 October 2019). "Vaticano: lascia il comandante della Gendarmeria Giani per la fuga delle "foto segnaletiche"". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  11. O'Connell, Gerard (15 October 2019). "Pope Francis appoints cybersecurity expert to head Vatican Security Services". America. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  12. "Il Papa visita la famiglia dell'ex capo della Gendarmeria Giani". La Stampa (in Italian). 16 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  13. Agasso Jr., Domenico (16 October 2019). ""La Gendarmeria è un colabrodo". E Papa Francesco dà la caccia alla talpa". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 17 October 2019.
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