Vatican City, 13 December 2024
On 4 December, Pope Francis appointed the four members of the XVI Ordinary Council under his jurisdiction, thus integrating the list of members who make up the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat.
They are:
- His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Claude HOLLERICH, Archbishop of Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
- His Eminence Cardinal Roberto REPOLE, Archbishop of Turin (Italy)
- Most Rev. Sister Simona BRAMBILLA, M.C., Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (Italy)
- Dr. María Lía ZERVINO, Member of the Dicastery for Bishops (Argentina)
The other members were elected during the 15th General Congregation of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on October, 23.
With the changes to Article 10 of the Instruction on the Celebration of Synodal Assemblies and the Activity of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops (available only in Italian), ratified by the Holy Father on 17 October 2024, the total number of members is 17: twelve of whom were elected during the October assembly from among the diocesan/eparchial or equivalent bishops (1 from the Eastern Catholic Churches, 1 from Oceania, 2 respectively from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia). At the same time, the four members by pontifical appointment are no longer necessarily bishops.
They will be joined, in due course, by the head of the Dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for the topic of the next Synod.
According to the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio (n. 24, 1-3), the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the Ordinary General Assembly. The members of the Ordinary Council take office at the end of the Ordinary General Assembly that elected them; they are members of the following Ordinary General Assembly and cease their mandate when the latter is dissolved. The Council, presided over by the Holy Father, is an integral part of the General Secretariat.
The new Ordinary Council, which will meet by videoconference next 17 December, will play a fundamental role both in the implementation of this synodal process on synodality and in the preparation of the next Synod.
The XVI Ordinary Council is composed of:
- His Beatitude Youssef ABSI, Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek Melkites, Head of the Synod of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church
- His Eminence Cardinal Luis José RUEDA APARICIO, Archbishop of Bogotá (Colombia)
- His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Marc AVELINE, Archbishop of Marseille (France)
- His Eminence Cardinal Pablo Virgilio S. DAVID, Bishop of Kalookan (Philippines)
- His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Claude HOLLERICH, Archbishop of Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
- His Eminence Cardinal Dieudonné NZAPALAINGA, C.S.Sp., Archbishop of Bangui (Central African Republic)
- His Eminence Cardinal Roberto REPOLE, Archbishop of Turin (Italy)
- His Eminence Cardinal Filipe Neri António Sebastião DO ROSÁRIO FERRÃO, Archbishop of Goa and Damão (India)
- His Excellency Most Rev. Msgr. Timothy John COSTELLOE, S.D.B., Archbishop of Perth (Australia)
- His Excellency Most Rev. Msgr. Daniel Ernest FLORES, Bishop of Brownsville (United States of America)
- His Excellency Most Rev. Msgr. Alain FAUBERT, Bishop of Valleyfield (Canada)
- His Excellency Most Rev. Msgr. José Luis AZUAJE AYALA, Archbishop of Maracaibo (Venezuela)
- His Excellency Most Rev. Msgr. Gintaras GRUŠAS, Archbishop of Vilnius (Lithuania)
- His Excellency Most Rev. Msgr. Andrew FUANYA NKEA, Archbishop of Bamenda (Cameroon)
- Most Rev. Sister Simona BRAMBILLA, M.C., Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (Italy)
- Dr. María Lía ZERVINO, Member of the Dicastery for Bishops (Argentina)