Following their cardinal appointments, in addition to their titles as members of the Church of Rome, the newly appointed cardinals also assume various roles within the Curia. Here is an overview of their assignments.
Some of the appointments were expected, such as Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, being assigned to the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. Others were less predictable, like Cardinals Ángel Sixto Rossi, Grzegorz Ryś, and Protase Rugambwa, who have been assigned to the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Notably, there were intriguing choices, such as Cardinal Americo Alves Aguiar, who joined the Dicastery for Communication instead of the previously rumored Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.
As customary after a consistory, the Pope integrates the new cardinals into roles within the Roman Curia as members of various dicasteries. After receiving a titular church and becoming part of the Diocese of Rome, the cardinals also become members of the Roman Curia.
Where have the new cardinals been assigned? Cardinals Claudio Gugerotti, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, and Víctor Manuel Fernández, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, have been designated for both sections of the Dicastery for Evangelization, effectively treated as two distinct dicasteries. The section for initial evangelization and new particular Churches also includes Cardinals Robert Francis Prevost, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and Protase Rugambwa, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Tabora (Tanzania).
The financial aspect is particularly intriguing, with only one cardinal, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America, appointed as a member, but to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, the Vatican’s “central bank,” which recently changed its president. Cardinals Robert Francis Prevost and Claudio Gugerotti, on the other hand, join the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.
Cardinals Gugerotti and Prevost also assume roles as members of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which also includes Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla, the Archbishop of Juba (South Sudan).
Prevost, Fernandez, and Pizzaballa also become members of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. Among the three new members of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, Cardinal Stephen Brislin, the Archbishop of Cape Town (South Africa), joins the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
The Dicastery for Bishops welcomes Cardinals Claudio Gugerotti; Víctor Manuel Fernández; Grzegorz Ryś; José Cobo Cano, the Archbishop of Madrid (Spain). Cobo Cano, along with Fernandez, is also named a member of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.
The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life includes Cardinals Robert Francis Prevost; Ángel Sixto Rossi; Ángel Fernández Artime, the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The latter, not yet consecrated as an archbishop, will conclude his term as Rector Major in a year, and there is speculation about a Vatican appointment for him, possibly leading the dicastery for religious.
Cardinals Gugerotti and Pizzaballa are appointed as members of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. In addition to Gugerotti, the interreligious dialogue will include Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, the Bishop of Hong Kong (China).
Cardinals Prevost, Gugerotti, and Fernandez are also designated for the Dicastery for Culture and Education, while the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development includes Cardinal Sebastian Francis, the Bishop of Penang (Malaysia).
Prevost and Gugerotti are also appointed members of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, while Cardinal Paul Emil Tscherrig, the Apostolic Nuncio to Italy and San Marino, becomes a member of the Apostolic Signatura Tribunal.
Finally, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, the Archbishop of Bogotá (Colombia), joins the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
As usual, most of the appointments have gone to cardinals already in the Curia: Cardinal Gugerotti becomes a member of nine dicasteries, Cardinal Prevost of eight, and Cardinal Fernandez of seven.
