The world’s cardinals are gathered in Rome this week for the extraordinary consistory of the college, convened by Pope Leo XIV to mark the beginning of his first full year as Bishop of Rome. Cardinals, bishops, and curial staffers across the Vatican have, in the months since the conclave which elected Leo, reported that the new pope consciously decided to close 2025 before embarking on any major tone-setting or shifting projects. Many within the close curial orbit have reported that Pope Leo saw the Jubilee Year as a deeply significant moment in the life of the Church, in addition to being a kind of legacy period of Pope Francis, deserving of its own time of special focus, prior to a more dynamic beginning to the Leonine era. Leo’s decision to open 2026 with an extraordinary consistory — a consultative practice largely eschewed by his predecessor — is itself a kind of self-evident turning of the pontifical page.
Published: January 8, 2026 3:26 pm
Source: The Pillar — Read original