The Council of Cardinals (, , ; also called C9 because it contained nine

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

members for a time) or Council of Cardinal Advisers is a group of cardinals of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

to serve as his advisers. The council was formally established on 28 September 2013.

Abbreviations

The Council of Cardinals has been named under abbreviations referring to the number of cardinals advisers which, over time, it has comprised: C8 (eight cardinals), C9 (nine cardinals), C6 (six cardinals), and C7 (seven cardinals).

History

The appointment of a group of eight advisers and one secretary to support the pope and the reform of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

was announced on 13 April 2013, one month after his election. The same group was formally established as the Council of Cardinals on 28 September of the same year by a chirograph of

. Secretary of State

Pietro Parolin Pietro Parolin (, ; born 17 January 1955) is an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who has served as the Holy See, Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State, Secretary of State since 2013, and has served as a member of the Council o ...

was added as a member of the council in July 2014. The Holy See used the expression "Council of the nine" (''Consiglio dei nove'' in Italian) in September 2014. In 2018, Marco Mellino was named as adjunct secretary to the council's secretary Marcello Semeraro. Pope Francis also removed the eldest three of the council's nine members in late 2018. Francis appointed another cardinal as a member in 2020, and also replaced secretary Marcello Semeraro with Marco Mellino. In March 2023, three cardinal advisers were removed, and five new cardinal advisers were appointed; the three other cardinals and the secretary were re-appointed. This made the current total of nine cardinal advisers and one secretary. On 24 April 2023, the renewed Council of Cardinals held their first meeting, over which Pope Francis presided. In February 2024, the role of women was discussed. Anglican Bishop Jo Bailey Wells, Salesian Sister Linda Pocher and consecrated virgin Goiliva Di Berardino addressed the Council "on the role of women in the Church.” On 17 June, the third meeting of the Council since April 2024 began, presided over by

. The April 2024 meeting centred on Praedicate evangelium's implementation in diocesan

Curia Curia (: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...

Purpose

On 13 April 2013, the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

stated the cardinals had been appointed "to advise he Popein the government of the universal Church and to study a plan for revising the Apostolic Constitution on the

, ' Pastor Bonus. In a chirograph dated 28 September 2013, Pope Francis stated the Council had the goal "of assisting me in the governance of the universal Church and of studying a project for the revision of the Apostolic Constitution ''Pastor Bonus'' on the Roman Curia", and that "said Council will be a further expression of episcopal communion and assistance to the '' munus petrinum'' which the Episcopate across the world is able to offer". The Council of Cardinals was thus 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 various activities, despite having achieved its main goal. Due to the advisory role of the body, some publications have likened it to a privy council.

Leadership and membership

The council currently comprises nine cardinals, assisted by Bishop Marco Mellino as its secretary: #

, Cardinal Secretary of State (since 2014) # Fernando Vérgez Alzaga , President Emeritus of the Governorate of Vatican City State and President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (since 2023) # Fridolin Ambongo Besungu , Archbishop of Kinshasa (since 2020) # Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay (since 2013) # Seán Patrick O'Malley , Archbishop of Boston and President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (since 2013) # Juan José Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona (since 2023) # Gérald Lacroix , Archbishop of Quebec (since 2023) # Jean-Claude Hollerich , Archbishop of Luxembourg (since 2023) # Sérgio da Rocha, Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia (since 2023) 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 * 2013–2018: Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya * 2013–2018: George Pell * 2013–2023: Reinhard Marx * 2013–2023: Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga (former coordinator) * 2013–2023: Giuseppe Bertello

Former secretaries

* 2013–2020: Marcello Semeraro

Former adjunct secretaries

* 2018–2020: Marco Mellino (became secretary)

References

External links

Communiqué on the first nomination of the cardinal advisers

{{Catholic Church Christian organizations established in 2013 2013 establishments in Vatican City * Reforms of the Roman Curia Pope Francis Advisory councils for heads of state