Pope Leo opens extraordinary consistory with call to mutual love and listening
January 08, 2026
Pope Leo XIV opened the first extraordinary consistory of his pontificate yesterday afternoon with a call to mutual love and listening.
Reflecting on passages from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (60:1-3) and the Second Vatican Council (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, n. 1), Pope Leo told the members of the College of Cardinals assembled in Synod Hall that “while centuries apart, we can say that the Holy Spirit inspired the same vision in the prophet and in the Council Fathers, namely the vision of the light of the Lord illuminating the holy city—first Jerusalem, then the Church.”
“The guidance of this light enables all peoples to walk in the midst of the darkness of the world,” the Pope said. “What Isaiah announced figuratively, the Council recognizes in the fully revealed reality of Christ, the light of the nations.”
Following the Second Vatican Council, Popes St. Paul VI (1963-78) and St. John Paul II (1978-2005) saw “the mystery of the Church as entirely held within the mystery of Christ, and thus [understood] the evangelizing mission as a radiation of the inexhaustible energy released by the central event of salvation history,” Pope Leo said. Pope Benedict XVI (2005-13) and Pope Francis (2013-25), in turn, “summarized this vision in one word: ‘attraction.’“
Pope Leo explained:
Pope Benedict referred to this in his homily for the opening of the Aparecida Conference in 2007, when he said: “The Church does not engage in proselytism. Instead, she grows by ‘attraction’: just as Christ ‘draws all to himself’ by the power of his love, culminating in the sacrifice of the Cross, so the Church fulfils her mission to the extent that, in union with Christ, she accomplishes every one of her works in spiritual and practical imitation of the love of her Lord.”
“I invite us to pay close attention to what Pope Benedict signaled as the ‘power’ that drives this movement of attraction,” Pope Leo said to the cardinals. “Indeed, this power is Charis [grace], it is Agape [love], it is the love of God that became incarnate in Jesus Christ and that, in the Holy Spirit, is given to the Church, sanctifying all her actions. Furthermore, it is not the Church that attracts, but Christ; and if a Christian or an ecclesial community attracts, it is because through that ‘channel’ flows the lifeblood of Charity that cascades from the Heart of the Savior.”
“Therefore, in order to be a truly missionary Church, one that is capable of witnessing to the attractive power of Christ’s love, we must first of all put into practice his commandment, the only one he gave us after washing his disciples’ feet: ‘Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another,’“ the Pope continued.
The Pope recalled that the two-day extraordinary consistory has four themes: Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis’s 2013 apostolic exhortation on the proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world; Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel), Pope Francis’s 2022 apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, and the role of the Curia and its relationship with the particular Churches (dioceses); synodality; and the liturgy. However, “due to time constraints, and in order to encourage a genuinely in-depth analysis, only two of them will be discussed specifically.”
As they discuss the two themes, the Pope asked the cardinals to consider this question: “Looking at the path of the next one or two years, what considerations and priorities could guide the action of the Holy Father and of the Curia regarding each theme?”
The Pontiff pledged to listen to the cardinals and asked the cardinals to listen to one another. He concluded:
This way of listening to each other, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and walking together, will continue to be a great help for the Petrine ministry entrusted to me. Even the way in which we learn to work together, with fraternity and sincere friendship, can give rise to something new, something that brings both the present and the future into focus. May the Holy Spirit always guide us, and may the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, assist us.
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Further information:
- Extraordinary Consistory (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1/7/26)
- Extraordinary consistory of College of Cardinals begins today (CWN, 1/7/26)
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