Pope Leo’s opening address to Extraordinary Concistory of Cardinals (26-27 June 2026)
Audience Hall – Friday, 26 June 2026
Dear brother Cardinals,
I welcome you and sincerely thank you for accepting my invitation.
Your presence demonstrates the shared concern for the entire Church in our service to the People of God and to the mission entrusted to us by the Lord.
At the consistory last January, I expressed a simple wish that these meetings would help us learn to “work together in the service of the Church” and continue “a dialogue that assists me in serving the mission of the whole Church.”
These were not merely introductory words.
I continue to believe that this is one of the most important responsibilities entrusted to the College of Cardinals.
Like the whole Church, we too learn as we move forward.
Communion is never achieved once and for all; it is an ongoing conversion that takes shape through prayer and concrete actions, building relationships of trust and a willingness to listen to one another.
In recent months, I have had several opportunities to reflect on our calling to build Christ’s communion.
This communion takes shape in a synodal Church, where everyone cooperates in the same mission according to their charisms and ministries.
As I said to the Roman Curia, “This communion is built not so much through words and documents, but rather through concrete gestures and attitudes that should be evident in our daily lives, including in our work.”
(Address to Roman Curia for Exchange of Christmas Greetings, December 22 2025).
We are not guardians of particular interests, but rather, “disciples and witnesses of the Kingdom of God, called in Christ to be leaven of universal fraternity.”.
For this reason, I would like our work together here to focus on four deeply interconnected themes.
First of all,
We are invited to contemplate the world in which the Church proclaims the Gospel.
Before asking ourselves what we should do, we must pause and consider reality.
We should look at it through the eyes of faith and allow ourselves to be challenged by listening to our brothers and sisters.
As I recalled a few weeks ago: “Jesus travels the streets, crosses the squares and visits our neighborhoods, dwelling in the settings of our daily lives. He is a God who is close to us, who walks with his people, the Lord of history” (Homily in “Plaza de Cibeles,” Madrid, 7 June 2026).
Today, the Lord continues to lead us through history.
The Church’s primary calling is to recognize his presence.
Next,
Together, we will reflect on the culture of power and the civilization of love.
Many of you come from places scarred by war, violence, and social or religious polarization.
However, none of us are immune to the various forms of conflict, oppression, and division that plague our societies today.
For this reason, the discernment we are called to undertake concerns us all and challenges the Church’s mission in every context.
The encyclical Magnificat Humanitas offers valuable insights into understanding our times.
I am eager to hear how these pages resonate within your churches, the questions they raise, the perspectives they offer, and the steps they suggest.
In fact, an encyclical continues its journey when it is received, interpreted, and embodied in the concrete life of the churches.
The third session will explore Magnificent Humanity in greater depth and examine how the Church can contribute to the common good.
We live in an age of growing temptation towards fragmentation,
where particular interests all too easily prevail.
The Church’s social teaching reminds us that the common good does not arise spontaneously but rather requires shared responsibility.
For the Church, this takes the form of a synodal style in service to the mission of the Kingdom.
Paragraph 86 of the encyclical Magnificat Hominum recalls this, adding that it requires attention to how decisions are made and responsibilities are exercised through transparency, evaluation, and shared responsibility.
Finally, we will devote a session to the process of implementing the Synod.
This final session will not introduce a new theme, but rather, it will bring together and connect what we have shared in previous sessions.
In the face of the world’s wounds, the building of the common good, and the Church’s mission, synodality points to a way forward: listening, discerning, and collectively taking responsibility for the choices the Lord entrusts to us.
As I have said on several occasions, synodality is not, first and foremost, a set of procedures.
Rather, it is an attitude, an openness, and a willingness to understand.
At times, it has been interpreted as a diminishment of authority.
In reality, however, it helps us understand the meaning of authority more deeply. Authority exists to safeguard communion, foster participation, and guide the Church’s common journey.
These four sessions are united by the missionary perspective, that we discussed at the last Consistory and that I mentioned in my April letter.
Our primary focus is not the internal life of the Church.
All of the themes that we will address—our view of the world, peace, the common good, and synodality—converge on a single question:
How can we help our churches proclaim the gospel with greater fidelity, freedom, and credibility today? Mission is not just one of the Church’s many tasks.
Mission is the very reason for her existing, and thus it becomes the criterion that guides our discernment.
When we learn to listen to one another, share responsibilities, and recognize the Spirit’s work in different churches, it improves more than just our work methods. We become a church that is better able to share the joy of the Gospel with the men and women of our time.
For this reason, I would like to ask for your help.
The ministry that the Lord has entrusted to me cannot be carried out alone.
It requires your experience, pastoral wisdom, and knowledge of the churches and peoples entrusted to you.
I am counting on you to help me discern what the Spirit is saying to the Church today.
I need your strong, explicit, and public support.
I need to feel sustained by you as brothers.
Therefore, I ask you to accompany me not only during these workdays, but also in my daily service to the universal Church.
Help me listen to what is emerging in the churches and recognize the signs of hope that often grow in silence.
Also, help me not ignore the struggles, misunderstandings, and resistance that can slow down our journey.
I need your freedom, frankness, and loyalty. Sincere advice is always an act of communion.
I also ask that you uphold this style of ecclesial discernment within your own church and ministry.
I know it requires patience and sometimes raises questions.
Nevertheless, I am convinced that the Lord is teaching us a more evangelical way of sharing the responsibility he has entrusted to us.
The credibility of our witness and the effectiveness of our mission depend on it.
I therefore encourage you to engage wholeheartedly in our group work.
I am well aware that this is not the usual way of conducting a consistory for many of us. Yet this is also part of the journey on which the Lord is leading us.
Of course, there will still be room for personal contributions, and everyone is free to send me their observations or confidential reflections as always.
However, I ask that you approach this ecclesial exercise with trust.
We learn synodality by practicing it, and we grow together in communion.
Thank you in advance for your willingness, interior freedom, and love for the Church.
Let us entrust these days to the Holy Spirit.
May he make us docile to his voice and grant us the grace to seek together what best serves the Gospel and the People of God.
Thank you.
