The Council of Cardinals (called C9 due to the fact it contained 9 cardinal members for some time), also known as the Council of Cardinal Advisers, is a group of

cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

to serve as his advisers. Announced on 13 April 2013, one month after his election, the council was formally established on 28 September of the same year. The council currently has seven members, following the decision by Pope Francis to remove three of its members in late 2018 and the appointment of another in 2020.

Abbreviations

The Council of Cardinals was named under abbreviations referring to the number of cardinals which, over time, it contained: C9 (9 cardinals), C6 (6 cardinals), C7 (7 cardinals).

Purpose

The Council of Cardinals was created primarily to assist

in the reform of the Roman Curia. Said reform was promulgated in 2022 through the apostolic constitution ''Praedicate evangelium''. The Council continues to exist and to perform verious activities, despite having achieved its main goal.

Leadership and membership

The council currently comprises seven cardinals, assisted by Bishop Marco Mellino as its secretary. * Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga , Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (coordinator) * Giuseppe Bertello, President Emeritus of the

Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State ( la, Pontificia Commissio pro Civitate Vaticana, it, Pontificia Commissione per lo Stato della Città del Vaticano;) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who also ...

and Governorate of Vatican City State * Oswald Gracias,

Archbishop of Bombay The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay is a particular church celebrating the Latin Rite of worship, centred in the Bombay (Mumbai) city of the northern Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The archdiocese has been a Metropolitan see sin ...

* Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising *

Seán Patrick O'Malley Seán Patrick O'Malley (born June 29, 1944) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church serving as the archbishop of Boston. He is a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2006. Since its ...

Archbishop of Boston The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...

and President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors * Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Secretary of State *

Fridolin Ambongo Besungu Fridolin Ambongo Besungu OFMCap (born 24 January 1960) is a Congolese prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been the Archbishop of Kinshasa since his appointment on 1 November 2018. He has been a bishop since 2004 and before becoming Archbishop ...

, Archbishop of Kinshasa The council is coordinated by Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga. At the time of its formation, the council had eight members. Cardinal Parolin was not among the council's original membership, but attended the meetings regularly and, in July 2014, was confirmed by the Holy See Press Office as a ninth member of the council.

Former members

* 2013-2018:

Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa (; born 5 September 1933) is a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Santiago from 1998 to 2010. He has been a cardinal since 2001 and was a member of Pope Francis' Council of Cardin ...

, Archbishop Emeritus of Santigo de Chile * 2013-2018: Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop Emeritus of Kinshasa * 2013-2018: George Pell, Prefect Emeritus of the Secretariat for the Economy

References

{{Catholic Church Christian organizations established in 2013 2013 establishments in Vatican City * Reforms of the Roman Curia Pope Francis