Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful upon his arrival in St. Peter’s Square to mark the final jubilee in the Vatican on Saturday.
Gregorio Borgia/AP
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Gregorio Borgia/AP
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo
The Council, as these gatherings are called, will be held from January 7 to 8, immediately after the conclusion of the Holy Year 2025 on January 6, a celebration of Christianity once every quarter century.
Leo’s first few months as pope were dominated by fulfilling his weekly Holy Year obligations of meeting with pilgrimage groups and celebrating special jubilee masses and masses. In addition, he spent much of his time resolving pending matters in Pope Francis’s papacy.
As a result, the January meeting will in many respects represent the first time Leo can look forward to his own agenda after his election on May 8 as America’s first pope. It is important that he summoned all the cardinals in the world to Rome.
Francis has largely eschewed ecclesiastical tradition as a means of governance. He relied instead on a small group of eight or nine carefully selected cardinal advisors to help him govern and make key decisions.
The Vatican said on Saturday that Leo’s first synod “will be directed toward promoting common discernment and providing support and advice to the Holy Father in the exercise of his high and solemn responsibility in the government of the universal Church.”
Other types of councils include the formal installation of new cardinals. But no new cardinals will be appointed at this meeting, which is purely advisory.