The Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Francis has extended the approval he had granted for the election of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals. Last month, the pontiff also extended the approval for the election of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri as vice dean.
Re and Sandri began their respective assignments in January 2020, a few days after the motu proprio — dated Dec. 21, 2019, following the resignation of the then-Cardinal-Dean Angelo Sodano — with which the pope modified the term of office of the dean of the Sacred College to a five-year term, possibly renewable, rather than the term being indefinite.
According to Canon 352 of the Code of Canon Law: “§1. The dean presides over the College of Cardinals; if he is impeded, the assistant dean takes his place. Neither the dean nor the assistant dean possesses any power of governance over the other cardinals but is considered as first among equals. §2. When the office of dean is vacant, the cardinals who possess title to a suburbicarian church, they alone are to elect one from their own group who is to act as dean of the college; the assistant dean, if he is present, or else the oldest among them, presides at this election. They are to submit the name of the person elected to the Roman pontiff who is competent to approve him. §3. The assistant dean is elected in the same manner as that described in §2, with the dean himself presiding. The Roman pontiff is also competent to approve the election of the assistant dean.”
On Thursday, the pope also promoted Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, to the Order of Bishops, making him the titular bishop (there is also a diocesan bishop) of the Suburbicarian (in the vicinity of Rome) Church of Albano. This position had been vacant since May 27, 2022, the day of the death of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who held the title.
To date, the Order of Bishops includes cardinals Re, Sandri, Francis Arinze, Beniamino Stella, Tarcisio Bertone, Josè Saraiva Martins, Pietro Parolin, Fernando Filoni, Marc Ouellet, Luis Antonio Tagle, Prevost, Bechara Boutros Rai, and Louis Raphael I Sako.
This story was first published by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
