Why this August’s extraordinary consistory of cardinals is significant

Under the Code of Canon Law, reformed in 1983, there are two types of consistories of cardinals: ordinary and extraordinary.

An extraordinary consistory is celebrated in particular cases and all the world’s cardinals are called to take part.

An ordinary consistory takes place when the pope needs the cardinals’ counsel on some important (though routine) issue, or to give solemnity to a papal decision such as the approval of canonizations.

The last time that Pope Francis summoned the cardinals to an extraordinary consistory was on Feb. 12-13, 2015. Now that the new Vatican constitution has been published, the pope is once again calling the cardinals to Rome.

The changing face of the College of Cardinals

It is the closing of a circle. The 2015 gathering was held before the consistory for the creation of new cardinals. The extraordinary consistory on Aug. 29-30, dedicated to discussion of the constitution Praedicate evangelium, will also take place after a consistory for the creation of new cardinals.

Pope Francis has only called one other extraordinary consistory since his election in 2013. The meeting on Feb. 22, 2014, was focused on the family. It began with a speech by the German theologian Cardinal Walter Kasper that served as a baseline for discussions at the 2014-2015 Synods of Bishops on the Family.

Between 2015 and 2022, many things changed. First of all, in the College of Cardinals. By 2015, Pope Francis had created 15 cardinal electors and five non-electors. In later consistories, he created 73 other cardinals, including 48 electors. The face of the College of Cardinals has profoundly altered in recent years.

After the August consistory, there will be 132 cardinal electors and 62% will be cardinals created by Pope Francis. Many of them have not had the opportunity to talk to each other. “In the event of a conclave, I wouldn’t know who sits next to me,” complained a cardinal created during a past pontificate.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis has moved forward with a reform of the Curia that has also changed a lot over time. To understand the changes, we must go back to that extraordinary consistory of 2015, in which 164 cardinals from all over the world participated.

The 2015 extraordinary consistory

Father Federico Lombardi, then director of the Holy See press office, reported that the 2015 extraordinary consistory began with a “very broad multi-voiced report” on economic issues. Cardinal George Pell, then prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, spoke, as did Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the Council for the Economy, and other figures involved in Vatican financial reform.

The next day, there was a report by the Council of Cardinals (then known as the C9) on curial reform and also an address on the internal coordination of the Curia. Cardinal Seán O’Malley then spoke about the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which had just been established.