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 cardinals welcomed as a chance to get to know themselves and the pope better and be of greater service to the church.
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.
The shift also comes as the cardinals’ relationship to the pope’s governance changes from the approach used by Pope Francis. Francis largely eschewed consistories and the College of Cardinals as a whole to help him govern, and instead relied on 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, some of the 245 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, the article said, made clear he had heard those complaints and was responding to them.
The report said Leo 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 Stephen Brislin, archbishop of Johannesburg, South Africa, told reporters after the meeting that he thought the pope wanted to be collegial. Brislin said the pope would draw on the experience and knowledge of cardinals from all parts of the world, and he said the successor of Peter could benefit from that worldwide experience as the Catholic Church is a universal body.
The cardinals also said regular meetings would help them know one another better. They noted that many hail from remote countries and rarely have a chance to get together, and the report said that during pre-conclave meetings some cardinals had complained about not having met others, which they described as a problem for the election of the next pope.
Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, archbishop of Rabat, Morocco, said the meeting was “very fruitful” because it allowed cardinals to know one another better, be in contact with the pope and “take the pulse of how things are going.”
For some, the consistory was also a way to get to know Leo himself. Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, bishop of Kalookan in the Philippines, said Leo took copious notes as cardinals spoke, and said he didn’t know what the end result might be, though he added that he believed the pope was taking the notes “very, very seriously.”
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, archbishop of Algiers, Algeria, said he was struck by Leo’s coherence, attentiveness and simplicity. Vesco said the meeting showed “a willingness to work together,” and added that in Leo’s simplicity, the cardinals felt loved and wanted to love him in return, describing what he called the brotherhood between them.