Pope Leo XIV has opened his first Extraordinary Consistory with a clear reminder of the Church’s true source of unity and mission: not institutional strength or strategy, but Christ Himself.
Gathered in Rome in the days following Epiphany, Cardinals from around the world met with the Holy Father to reflect on the Church’s path forward, focusing particularly on synodality and evangelization in the light of Evangelii gaudium, according to Vatican News.
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At the opening of the Consistory, Pope Leo emphasized his desire to listen rather than impose conclusions. “I am here to listen,” he told the Cardinals, explaining that their time together was not meant to produce a finished document but to continue a conversation that would help him serve the universal Church.
The Pope acknowledged the diversity within the College of Cardinals, noting that it is shaped by “a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, ecclesial and social traditions, formative and academic paths, pastoral experiences, not to mention personal characteristics and traits,” according to Vatican News. This diversity, he said, is meant to foster dialogue and communion rather than division.
Central to the Pope’s message was a warning against allowing the Church to become self-referential. “It is not the Church that attracts, but Christ,” Pope Leo said, stressing that any authentic fruitfulness in Christian communities comes from allowing the love of Christ to flow through them. He cautioned that “while unity attracts, division scatters,” underscoring the pastoral consequences of internal discord.
The following day, during Mass with the Cardinals, the Holy Father returned to this theme by reflecting on the meaning of the Consistory itself. Drawing on the Latin root of the word, he described it as a moment to “stop” — a deliberate pause from frenetic activity in order to pray, listen, and discern together. According to Vatican News, he called this pause a “prophetic gesture” in a restless world, helping Church leaders remain focused on their true mission rather than “blind action.”
Pope Leo urged the Cardinals to approach their work not as experts advancing agendas, but as believers united by faith. “Our College, though rich in many skills and notable gifts, is not called, first of all, to be a team of experts, but a community of faith,” he said, explaining that the gifts of each Cardinal are meant to bear fruit only when offered to the Lord and returned through His providence.
He further invited them to transform this time of discernment into an act of love toward God, the Church, and humanity, reminding them that their shared responsibility with the Successor of Peter is “grave and burdensome,” yet rooted entirely in grace.
Looking outward, Pope Leo highlighted the suffering of the world, speaking of a “great crowd” marked by misery and “desperate existential emptiness.” The Consistory, he said, exists so that the Church may better receive and distribute what God provides, likening their mission to the Gospel image of the “five loaves and two fishes” that Providence never fails to multiply when His children ask for help.
As the Extraordinary Consistory continues, Pope Leo entrusted its work to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, expressing hope that this shared path of listening, prayer, and fraternity would continue to shape his Petrine ministry in the years ahead, according to Vatican News.
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