Pope Francis today confirmed Cardinal Leonardo Sandri as prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and Msgr. Cyril Vasil as secretary of the same dicastery.
The Holy Father did not give an indication of the length of time he wished them to remain heads of the dicastery, but the term is usually for five years. Cardinal Sandri, who is also Argentinian, is 70 years of age, five short of the usual retiring age of cardinals.
The Pope also renewed as members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches His Beatitude Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts; and His Beatitude Louis Raphael I Sako, patriach of Babylon of the Chaldeans.
The following new members were nominated to the Congregation today: Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general of His Holiness for the diocese of Rome; Archbishop William Charles Skurla of Pittsburgh of the Byzantines; Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State; Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster; Archbishop Mario Aurelio Poli of Buenos Aires; Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz of Louisville; Archbishop Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo of Belo Horizonte; Archbishop Denis James Hart of Melbourne; Bishop Joseph Werth of Transfiguration of Novosibirsk.
The following members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches were reconfirmed for a further five years: Cardinal Christoph Schonborn; Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran; His Beatitude Fouad Twal, patriarch of Jerusalem; Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis Abeba; Archbishop Piero Marini; Archbishop Jan Babjak, metropolitan of Presov; Bishop Antoine Audo, S.J.; and the following members for the remainder of their respective mandates: Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, Cardinal Angelo Scola, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Cardinal Francesco Monterisi, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Cardinal Edwin Frederick O’Brien, and Bishop Peter Burcher of Reykjavik.
The Pope named the following new consultors to the Congregation: Bishop Dimitrios Salachas, Pr. Massimo Pampaloni, S.J., Fr. Philippe Luisier, S.J., Pr. Michael Kuchera, S.J., Pr. Lorenzo Lorusso, O.P., Pr. Georges Ruyssen, S.J., Pr. Thomas Pott, O.S.B., Sac. Pablo Gefaell, Fr. G. Ronald Roberson, C.S.P., Msgr. Paul Pallath, Fr. Adam Konstanc, O.P., Msgr. Guido Marini, Sac. George Gallaro.
The following consultors were reconfirmed: Msgr. Christo Proykov, Hanna G. Alwan, Borys Gudziak, Fr. Michel Van Parys, O.S.B., Msgr. Michel Berger, Msgr. Osvaldo Raineri, Pr. Archim. Jan Sergiusz Gajek, M.I.C., Msgr. Natale Loda, Archpriest Vasyl Hovera.
