(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 01.11.2026).- On Thursday, January 9, at the end of the Extraordinary Consistory, which Pope Leo XIV convened with the Cardinals, the Holy Father addressed the following words to them, translated into English by ZENIT. It is not only a review of what was discussed but also a projection of the next steps.
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When each of us was elected Cardinal, the Holy Father commissioned us to be “fearless witnesses of Christ and of His Gospel in the city of Rome and in the most distant regions” (cf. Rite for the Creation of Cardinals). This mission is really the core, the essence of which we all commit to carry out. This Consistory has represented a privileged time to express the mission of the Church and to do so together, in communion. During this last day and a half, the Holy Spirit has generously poured out His manifold gifts. I am deeply grateful for your presence and participation, all geared towards sustaining me in my service as Peter’s Successor. I am grateful to the older ones among you, who made the effort to come: your testimony is truly valuable! At the same time, I am close too, and in a particular way, to the Cardinals from various parts of the world who, for various reasons, were unable to come. We are with you and feel you close!
This meeting is intimately related to what we have experienced in the Conclave. Already before the Conclave — the election of Peter’s Successor –, you expressed your desire to meet with us and to be able to make your contribution and give us your support. We had a first experience on May 9. Then, in these two days, with a simple, but not necessarily easy method, which will help us to meet and get to know one another better. Personally, I have felt a deep communion and harmony with all of you, amongst so many interventions. We have also had an experience of synodality, lived not as an organizational technique, but as an instrument for growth in listening and relationships. And, without a doubt, we must continue and deepen these gatherings.
At the end of this intervention, I will take up more concretely some ideas on how we could proceed. But first I would like to recap some of the ideas that have emerged these days. Perhaps beginning with the words which have been repeated several times, also in this last session.
To find Christ at the center of our mission. To proclaim the Gospel –, we all know it well –, Jesus Christ is at the center. We want to proclaim His Word and, therefore, stress the importance of ourselves living an authentic spiritual life that can be witnessed in today’s world.
The topics that have been chosen are deeply rooted in Vatican Council II and throughout the path that emerged from the Council. We will never insist enough on the importance of continuing the path that opened with the Council. I encourage you to do so. As you know, I have chosen this topic — the documents and experience of the Council — for this year’s public audiences. And this path is a lifelong process, of conversion, of renewal of the whole Church. [The Apostolic Exhortation] Evangelii Gaudium and Synodality are important elements of this path.
And I would like to say also that, at the same time, the other two topics that have been proposed, but that are not necessarily central in these two days of work, are strongly related to the other topics and to the Council. They have not been forgotten and they will not be forgotten. Cardinal Semeraro has recalled very well the connection between Synodality and the Eucharist. By the way, a group linked to the Synodal Assembly is reflecting further on this topic. Cardinal Castillo has now spoken about the 2028 Assembly. Undoubtedly, the ongoing work with the Synod’s Secretariat continues with the study groups.
The way of synodality is a way of communion for mission, in which we are all called to participate. That’s why the bonds between us are important. You have stressed the importance of connection with the Holy Father, in particular with the Episcopal Conferences and with the local Churches; and the importance of the Continental Assemblies. Neither, however, should these become «additional» meetings to add to a list, but places of encounter and relationship between Bishops with priests and laity, and among the Churches, which help a lot to promote genuine missionary creativity.
Next, we turn to the other subject: the work of the Dicasteries in the spirit of [the Apostolic Constitution] Praedicate Evangelium, with their service to the Holy Father and to particular Churches. Praedicate Evangelium highlights the need to «harmonize better the present exercise of the service of the Curia with the way of evangelization that the Church, above all, is living at this time» (I, 3). In this perspective, I reiterate to you my commitment to do my part and offer you and the whole Church a structure of relations and service, capable of supporting and backing you and the local Churches, to face together, with greater relevance and effectiveness, the present challenges of the mission.
To continue this path, you’ve talked about the importance of formation. Formation to listen, formation in a spirituality of listening. In particular — you have underlined — in the Seminaries but also for the Bishops!
Here, although it has not been a specific subject of dialogue in our meeting, I want to mention the problem that still remains a real wound in the life of the Church in many places, which is precisely the crisis caused by the sexual abuses. We cannot close our eyes or our hearts. I would like to say, encouraging you also to share it in turn with the Bishops: often the pain of the victims has been intensified by the fact that they have not been received and listened to. The abuse itself causes a deep wound that may last a lifetime; but many times the scandal in the Church is due to the fact that the door has been closed and the victims have been unwelcomed, nor have they been accompanied with the closeness of authentic shepherds. Recently, a victim told me that the most painful thing for her was precisely that no Bishop wanted to listen to her. And therefore, in this case also, listening is profoundly important.
The formation of all. Formation in Seminaries, formation of priests, of Bishops, of lay collaborators must be rooted in the ordinary and concrete life of the local Church, of parishes and of many other meaningful places where people meet, in particular those that suffer. As you have seen here, one or two days, or even a week, are not enough to deepen reflection on a topic and live it. Therefore, it would be important that our usual way of working together be an opportunity for formation and growth for those with whom we work, at all levels, from the parish to the Roman Curia. One example, of where habitual growth can be achieved in a synodal style, is pastoral visits; and there is also a need to reinvigorate all participating bodies.
But all this is related to the path of implementation of the Synod, which continues and will have a pivotal stage in the Ecclesiastical Assembly scheduled for 2028. I encourage you to be leaven on this path. It is a path to the mission of the Church, a path to the service of the proclamation of Christ’s Gospel.
Behold, dear brothers — but these are only the first resonances of what I have heard from you. The debate is set to continue. I invite you again to send in writing your assessments on the four topics, on the Consistory as a whole and on the relationship of the Cardinals with the Holy Father and with the Roman Curia. I also reserve the right to calmly read the reports and personal messages and, further on, give you my opinion, a reply and continue the dialogue.
I would like to propose that our next Consistory meeting be held near the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul this year. And I would like to suggest that, for this year, we meet, for a second time, for two days, thinking then of continuing the meetings in the future, but maybe for more days, once a year: three or four days, as some group has suggested. A first day of reflection, of prayer, of meeting, and then two or three days of work. But this year we will continue this way.
To continue, in regard to the help I sincerely believe you can offer, let’s think of the next Consistory in June. Here I want to add that, if some of you have difficulties, let’s say for financial reasons, make them known. And I believe that I too, that we too, can live a little solidarity with each other; there are ways, with generous people to help.
Well, at the end of this Consistory, I wish to reiterate what I stated in the homily of the Epiphany: «God reveals Himself and nothing can remain unchanged. It ends with a certain kind of calmness, that which makes the melancholic repeat: «There is nothing new under the sun» (Ecclesiastes 1:9). This is the hope that is given to us.
Hope that we feel we can transmit to our world. And with this, we want to express together the concern we have shared in dialogues and personal encounters, and also in some interventions in the group, for all those who suffer in the world. We are not gathered here deaf to the reality of poverty, suffering, war, and violence that afflicts so many local Churches. And here, with them in our hearts, we also want to say that we are close to them. Many of you come from countries where you are experiencing this suffering of violence and war.
We are called to embrace this path of hope also before the younger generations: what we experience and decide today not only concerns the present, but also influences the near and distant future.
It is the hope we experienced during the Jubilee that has just concluded. It is truly a message we want to offer the world: we have closed the Holy Door, but let us remember: Christ’s Door and His love remain always open!
And now let us pray for one another, as the Holy Father prayed for us on the day he created us Cardinals: “Grant by your grace what human weakness cannot achieve, so that these Your servants, continually building up your Church, may shine forth by their integrity of faith and purity of spirit” (cf. Rite of the Creation of New Cardinals). And may Saint Peter intercede for us, as, in a collegial spirit, we strive to serve his Barque, the Church!
Translation of the Italian original into Spanish by ZENIT’s Editorial Director and, into English, by Virginia M. Forrester
