Pope indicates new governing style for Catholic Church with regular, annual cardinal meetingsPope Leo XIV says he intends to bring the world’s Catholic cardinals together on an annual basisByNICOLE WINFIELD Associated PressJanuary 8, 2026, 3:37 PMVATICAN CITY -- VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV said Thursday he intended to bring the world’s Catholic cardinals together annually, indicating a new governing style for the church that involves consulting its top leaders regularly and as a group. At the end of his first consistory, as such meetings are called, Leo asked cardinals to return to Rome for a second session at the end of June and from then onward on an annual basis for three to four days each year, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. Cardinals said the proposed date for the second session would be June 27-28, before a big June 29 feast day. Pope Francis had largely eschewed consistories and the College of Cardinals as a whole to help him govern. Instead, he had a hand-picked group of nine cardinals who met every few months at the Vatican to advise him. Before the May conclave that elected Leo, cardinals had complained about Francis’ go-it-alone governing style and called for the new pope to convene regular consistories so the cardinals could gather as a group and advise the pope on pressing issues facing the church. Venezuela live updates: Trump slams Republicans who voted to advance resolution36 minutes ago37-year-old woman fatally shot by ICE officer in Minneapolis identifiedJan 7, 6:56 PMFBI releases images of seized motorcycles as search for Ryan Wedding continuesDec 30, 4:51 PMLeo made clear he had heard their complaints and was responding to them.
