Pope Leo XIV said Thursday he intended to bring the world’s Catholic cardinals together annually, indicating a new governing style for the church that involves consulting its top leaders regularly and as a group.
At the end of his first consistory, as such meetings are called, Leo asked cardinals to return to Rome for a second session at the end of June and from then onward on an annual basis for three to four days each year, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
Cardinals said the proposed date for the second session would be June 27-28, before a big June 29 feast day.
Pope Francis had largely eschewed consistories and the College of Cardinals as a whole to help him govern. Instead, he had a hand-picked group of nine cardinals who met every few months at the Vatican to advise him.
Before the May conclave that elected Leo, cardinals had complained about Francis’ go-it-alone governing style and called for the new pope to convene regular consistories so the cardinals could gather as a group and advise the pope on pressing issues facing the church.
Leo made clear he had heard their complaints and was responding to them. He convened his first consistory the day after he closed out the 2025 Holy Year, which in some ways signaled the start of his pontificate after he wrapped up Francis' Jubilee obligations.
Cardinal Stefen Brislin, archbishop of Johannesburg, South Africa, said this week's meeting also allowed cardinals to get to know one another, since many rarely travel to Rome and hail from remote countries. During the pre-conclave meetings, cardinals had complained that they didn't know one another, posing a problem for some about who they would vote for to be the next pope.
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