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Pope Leo XIV is expected to summon the world’s cardinals to Rome in early January next year for an extraordinary consistory, according to a Vatican communication circulated this week.
A brief note sent by the Secretariat of State on 6 November and obtained by the National Catholic Register stated that “Holy Father Leo XIV has in mind to convene an extraordinary consistory for the days of Jan. 7 and 8, 2026.”
The message added, “In due course, the dean of the College of Cardinals will send to Your Eminence the relevant letter with further details,” concluding with the line, “With profound reverence, coordinating office of the Secretariat of State.”
Asked on Friday about the correspondence by the NCR, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said that the Vatican had not yet publicly “confirmed its existence”, adding that an announcement was likely not to be “that far ahead”. The theme of the meeting has not been disclosed, and it is uncertain whether all members of the College have been informed.
Extraordinary consistories are convened when the Pope seeks to consult the entire College of Cardinals on issues of particular importance to the Church. The last such gathering took place on 29-30 August 2022 under Pope Francis and focused on Praedicate Evangelium, the apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia.
News of the forthcoming gathering comes amid continuing discussion in Rome about the need for greater collegiality among the cardinals. Some observers note that members of the College expressed an expectation during this year’s conclave that more regular consistories would be held.
Speculation among some Curial circles suggests that the January consistory may coincide with preparations for Pope Leo’s first encyclical. A priest working in the Curia told the Catholic Herald that the meeting may relate to the first papal encyclical that is yet to be released or given a firm release date.
In Church tradition, a consistory, derived from the Latin con-sistere, meaning “to stand together”, is a formal assembly of cardinals summoned by the Pope. Ordinary consistories are largely ceremonial, often used to elevate new cardinals or announce canonisations, while extraordinary ones allow the pontiff to deliberate on matters of wider concern.
Throughout modern history, popes have employed such meetings for major discussions: John Paul II convened six extraordinary consistories, addressing topics from Curial reform to the Church’s mission in the new millennium. Pope Benedict XVI preferred informal pre-consistory sessions, while Francis held two extraordinary consistories, the last in 2022.
The Vatican has yet to issue any formal confirmation of January’s meeting, but anticipation is already growing for the first extraordinary consistory of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate.
Photo: A Swiss Guard stands by a group of cardinals during the Pope's Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican , 5 November 2025 (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
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