The day after his election, Pope Leo XIV gathered the College of Cardinals. He asked them for help in governing and for dialogue, to listen to suggestions and proposals. But not only that. As early as May 10, the Pope shared a general road map for his pontificate.
POPE LEO XIV
The return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation; the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community; growth in collegiality and synodality; attention to the sensus fidei, especially in its most proper and inclusive forms, such as popular piety; loving care for the weak and the discarded; and courageous, confident dialogue with the contemporary world in its different components and realities.
This program of governance has largely remained the case for the first 8 months of the new papacy: from the content of the Pope's homilies, to the theme of his first document, to the diplomatic style he has made his own.
Up until the close of the Jubilee, Pope Leo spent much of his time fulfilling the incomplete work of his predecessor — those items Pope Francis left unfinished at his death: Jubilee events, the trip to Turkey and Lebanon, or Synodal matters.
In wake of the Jubilee Year, it is fitting now that the Pope should host this extraordinary consistory from January 7-8, the first days after the Jubilee. 170 cardinals from around the world were present in Rome for the first day of this two day gathering.
During the first day of the consistory, the Pope emphasized that the gathering was not only a matter of duty, but an urgent one. Listen to him now, in his greeting to the college of cardinals on January 7.
POPE LEO XIV
The current conditions of the world make this duty of the Church more urgent, so that all people—today more closely united by various social, technical, and cultural bonds—may also attain full unity in Christ.
It is evidenct that Pope Leo plans to renew the role of the College of Cardinals during his papacy. This is why he chose to meet with all the cardinals, rather than having them represented by a smaller council, which is how Pope Francis had primarily operated in his governance of the Church.
POPE LEO XIV
We are called first of all to get to know one another and to engage in dialogue in order to be able to work together in the service of the Church. I hope that we can grow in communion in order to offer a model of collegiality. I am here to listen, as we learned during the two Synod assemblies of 2023 and 2024. The synodal dynamic implies listening par excellence.
After the Pope's address, and in true synodal fashion, the 170 cardinals divided into 20 working round-table groups in the Paul VI Hall to discuss agenda items for the consistory.
For these round-table groups, Pope Leo offered four topics and proposed that each group choose two of them for the whole college to discuss: synodality, the liturgy, the missionary character of the Church, and the constitution Praedicate Evangelium, on reform of the Roman Curia.
After each group of cardinals discussed the options, the majority of groups chose the two following topics on which to focus for the second day of the consistory: synodality and the missionary character of the Church.
CA
