Pope presides over the first meeting of the new Council of Cardinals

This is the first meeting of the C9 after its recent renewal by Francis. He created the Council in 2013 to help him with the governance of the Universal Church, and with the reform of the Roman Curia.

By Vatican News

The Council of Cardinals met today in the Vatican in the presence of Pope Francis. This is the first meeting of the new C9 after the renewal of the body by the Pope on the 7th March.

The members of the new Council are Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State; Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the 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 Québec; Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg; Sérgio da Rocha, Archbishop of San Salvador de Bahia. The Council’s Secretary is Archbishop Marco Mellino, titular bishop of Cresima.

The Council of Cardinals was established by Pope Francis with a Chirograph on 28th September 2013 and tasked with assisting him in the governance of the Universal Church, as well as the reform of the Roman Curia, the latter realised with the new Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium published on 19 March 2022.

The first meeting of the C9 took place on 1 October 2013. Its last meeting, in December last year, was dedicated in particular to the continental phase of the Synod on Synodality.

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