Council of Cardinals commences April meetings in the Vatican

By Vatican News

A statement by the Holy See Press Office said the Council of Cardinals, known as the C9, held the first of this session’s meeting in the presence of Pope Francis.

February Meetings

The last session took place from 5 to 7 February 2024 and involved the participation of three women who contributed on the topic of the role of women in the Church. They were Sister Linda Pocher, a Salesian Sister and lecturer in Christology and Mariology at the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences Auxilium in Rome; Giuliva Di Berardino, a consecrated member of the Ordo Virginum of the Diocese of Verona, a teacher, and responsible for spirituality courses and spiritual exercises; Jo Bailey Wells, a bishop of the Church of England and the Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. The February meetings of the cardinals with the Pope and the secretary of the Council also focused on the synodal processes underway in the Church and on the theme of evangelization, with contributions from Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

The "New" C9

Following the renewal of the Council by the Pope on 7 March 2023, the Council of Cardinals is composed by Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State; Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and Governorate of Vatican City State; Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Archbishop of Kinshasa; Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Seán Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Juan José Omella Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona; Gérald Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec; Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg; Sérgio da Rocha, Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia. The secretary is Monsignor Marco Mellino, titular bishop of Cresima. The first meeting of the new C9 was held on 24 April last year.

Establishment of the Council of Cardinals

Pope Francis established the Council with a chirograph on 28 September 2013 to assist him in the governance of the universal Church and study a project for the revision of the Roman Curia. This task came to fruition with the new Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium published on 19 March 2022. The first meeting of the C9 was held on 1 October 2013.