Pope renews Council of Cardinals

By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis has renewed the Council of Cardinals, as known as the 'C9', since the mandate of the previous Council has expired.

The Cardinal members of the new Council are: Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State; Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Fridolin Ambongo, Archbishop of Kinshasa; and Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Seán Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Juan José Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona; Gérald Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec; Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg; Sérgio da Rocha, Archbishop of San Salvador de Bahia.

The Secretary of the commission is Bishop Marco Mellino.

The next meeting of the Council will be held on 24 April at 9 a.m. CET at 'Casa Santa Marta', the Pope’s residence.

Its last meeting, held in December last year, had been devoted to the continental phase of the ongoing synod, among other topics.

The first meeting of the Council was held from 1-3 October 2013.

Established by Pope Francis on 28 September 2013, the Council of Cardinals was created to assist the Pope in the governance of the universal Church.

The Council was also founded with the project to revise the Roman Curia, the latter accomplished with the new Apostolic Constitution 'Praedicate Evangelium' published on 19 March of last year.

The Council of Cardinals, the Chirograph states, is intended as "a further expression of episcopal communion and of the assistance to the 'munus petrinum' that the Episcopate scattered throughout the world can offer."