Consistories are not only for creating cardinals or setting dates for canonisations. That's called an Ordinary Consistory. But there is another kind in which, according to the Code of Canon Law, a series of other matters are dealt with:
In the Extraordinary Consistory, which is held when the particular needs of the Church or the treatment of particularly serious matters so require, all cardinals are summoned.
Today, there would be just over 250 cardinals who would have to travel to Rome if Pope Leo XIV decides to convene this type of assembly. And it seems that he will.
It is not official. Nor has the Vatican either confirmed or denied it. But some suggest the Pope will convene the College of Cardinals on 7 and 8 January for an Extraordinary Consistory.
According to the National Catholic Register, on 6 November, the Secretariat of State sent a brief communication to the cardinals, which read as follows:
The Holy Father Leo XIV plans to convene an Extraordinary Consistory on 7 and 8 January 2026 [...]. In due course, the Dean of the College of Cardinals will send Your Eminence the corresponding letter with further details.
If there was one thing the cardinals asked for during the pre-conclave sessions, it was to be have their voices heard by the new Pope. In his first meeting with them on 10 May, Pope Leo XIV communicated the guidelines for his pontificate and said the following:
10 May 2025
In the first part of this meeting, there will be a brief talk with some reflections that I would like to share with you. This will be followed by a second part, similar to the opportunity that many of you had requested: a kind of dialogue with the College of Cardinals to hear advice, suggestions, proposals and specific issues that were discussed in the days leading up to the conclave.
Another question is what Pope Leo XIV will talk to the cardinals about. Some Extraordinary Consistories were held, for example, in 2022, to discuss the constitution Praedicate Evangelium and the reform of the Curia. Or again in 2014, to address issues regarding the family.
If the Consistory takes place, Leo will have been pope for just eight months and, so far, he's made no major decisions. Only one important appointment: his replacement as head of the Dicastery for Bishops.
The position of Prefect of Legislative Texts is still vacant, as are some other positions that should be filled in 2026. For example, Cardinal Czerny, head of the Department for Migrants, and Cardinal Filoni, Grand Master of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Both men will soon turn 80.
It also remains to be seen whether the Pope will decide to reinstate what his predecessor, Pope Francis established: namely, a Council of Cardinals, also known as the C-9. A small group of nine cardinals from different continents who met regularly with the Pope and were his closest and most trusted advisors.
