Synod: Pope appoints Council members, including 2 women

By Vatican News

On December 13, Pope Francis appointed members of the XVI Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod. The appointments, dated December 4, were announced on Friday by the Vatican Press Office. They include Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, Archbishop of Luxembourg and General Relator for the two sessions of the Synod in October 2023 and 2024; Cardinal Roberto Repole, Archbishop of Turin, who received the cardinalate on December 7; Sister Simona Brambilla, Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; and consecrated laywoman María Lía Zervino, former President of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations, appointed as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2022.

17 members in total

A statement notes that the other members were elected during the 15th General Congregation of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on October 23. Following changes to Article 10 of the Instruction on the Celebration of Synodal Assemblies and the Activities of the General Secretariat, ratified by Pope Francis on October 17, 2024, the total number of members is 17. Of these, 12 were elected during the October Assembly from among diocesan/eparchial bishops or their equivalents (including one each from the Eastern Catholic Churches and Oceania, and two each from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia).

Papal appointees no longer limited to bishops

The four papal appointees are no longer required to be bishops. Additionally, the head of the Roman Curia Dicastery responsible for the theme of the next Synod will be added in due course. According to the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio (n. 24, 1-3), the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat is responsible for preparing and implementing the Ordinary General Assembly. Council members begin their mandate at the conclusion of the Ordinary General Assembly that elected them and serve until the dissolution of the following Assembly. The Council, chaired by the Pope, is an integral part of the General Secretariat.

The new Ordinary Council, which will meet via videoconference on December 17, will play a crucial role in implementing the synodal process on synodality and preparing the next Synod.

Composition of the XVI Ordinary Council:

1. His Beatitude Youssef Absi – Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek Melkites, Head of the Synod of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church
2. Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio – Archbishop of Bogotá (Colombia)
3. Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline – Archbishop of Marseille (France)
4. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich – Archbishop of Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
5. Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, C.S.Sp. – Archbishop of Bangui (Central African Republic)
6. Cardinal Roberto Repole – Archbishop of Turin (Italy)
7. Cardinal Filipe Neri António Sebastião Do Rosário Ferrão – Archbishop of Goa and Damão (India)
8. Archbishop Timothy John Costelloe, S.D.B. – Archbishop of Perth (Australia)
9. Bishop Daniel Ernest Flores – Bishop of Brownsville (United States)
10. Bishop Alain Faubert – Bishop of Valleyfield (Canada)
11. Archbishop José Luis Azuaje Ayala – Archbishop of Maracaibo (Venezuela)
12. Archbishop Gintaras Grušas – Archbishop of Vilnius (Lithuania)
13. Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea – Archbishop of Bamenda (Cameroon)
14. Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David – Bishop of Kalookan (Philippines)
15. Sister Simona Brambilla, M.C. – Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (Italy)
16. Dr. María Lía Zervino – Member of the Dicastery for Bishops (Argentina)