Council of Cardinals commences April meetings in the Vatican
Vatican news
April 15 marks the start of the April working session of the C9 – Council of Cardinals, in the presence of Pope Francis.
By Vatican News
A statement from the Holy See Press Office said the Council of Cardinals, known as the C9, held the first meeting of this session in the presence of Pope Francis.
February meetings
The last session took place from February 5 to 7, 2024 and saw the participation of three women who contributed on the theme of the role of women in the Church. They were Sister Linda Pocher, Salesian sister and lecturer in Christology and Mariology at the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences Auxilium in Rome; Giuliva Di Berardino, consecrated member of the Ordo Virginum of the Diocese of Verona, teacher and responsible for spirituality courses and spiritual exercises; Jo Bailey Wells, bishop of the Church of England and deputy general secretary of the Anglican Communion. The February meetings of the cardinals with the Pope and the Secretary of the Council also focused on the synodal processes underway in the Church and the theme of evangelization, with contributions from Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefects of the Dicastery. for evangelization.
The “new” C9
Following the renewal of the Council by the Pope on March 7, 2023, the Council of Cardinals is composed of Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State; Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State and the Governorate of the Vatican City State; Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, archbishop of Kinshasa; Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Seán Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Juan José Omella Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona; Gérald Lacroix, archbishop of Quebec; Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg; Sérgio da Rocha, archbishop of São Salvador de Bahia. The secretary is Mgr Marco Mellino, titular bishop of Cresima. The first meeting of the new C9 was held on April 24 last year.
Creation of the Council of Cardinals
Pope Francis created the Council by Chirograph on September 28, 2013 to assist him in the governance of the universal Church and to study a project to revise the Roman Curia. This task came to fruition with the new Apostolic Constitution Preaching the Evangelium published on March 19, 2022. The first meeting of the C9 was held on October 1, 2013.
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