2026 in the Vatican will open with a high-level meeting between the Pope and the cardinals. It will take place on January 7 and 8, just after the close of the Jubilee. All the world's 245 cardinals are invited to attend.
The Jubilee year of 2025 obliged the Pope to spend most of his time in Rome presiding over events. So the January meeting promises to be a key moment for exchanging views on the first months of Pope Leo's pontificate, and for setting his future priorities.
Theories abound concerning what issues might be discussed at the meeting – synodality being one of them. What is certain is that the event will allow Pope Leo XIV to get to know his cardinals. And vice versa.
So far, the Pope has not convened what his predecessor, Pope Francis, called the “C9” - a form of advisory committe of cardinals from different parts of the world with whom he met several times a year. Right now, Pope Leo appears to be defining his own form of governance. Which is why the January meeting is so important.
