(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 05.05.2025).- On the afternoon of Monday, May 5, the eleventh General Congregation of Cardinals was held, beginning at 5:00 p.m., and opened with a moment of common prayer.
There were 170 Cardinals present, of whom 132 were Electors.
There were approximately twenty contributions, focused on themes of major pastoral and ecclesial relevance. Time was devoted to the question of ethnicism within the Church and in society.
Migration was discussed, recognizing migrants as a gift for the Church, but also highlighting the urgency of accompanying them and supporting their faith in contexts of mobility and change.
The ongoing wars were referred to on several occasions, with tones often marked by direct testimonies from Cardinals who come from the regions affected by conflicts.
The discussion returned to the subject of the path of the Synod on synodality, seen as a concrete expression of an ecclesiology of communion, in which everyone is called to participate, listen and discern together.
The Cardinals reaffirmed their commitment and responsibility to support the new Pope, called to be a true pastor, a guide who knows how to go beyond the confines of the Catholic Church alone, promoting dialogue and building relationships with other religious and cultural worlds.
Reference was also made to the challenge represented by the spread of sects in various parts of the world.
This afternoon, in the Papal Chapel, First Loggia of the Apostolic Palace, the officials and staff of the Conclave, both ecclesiastical and lay, took their oath.
The session concluded at 19.00.
The twelfth General Congregation of Cardinals is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9.00.
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