Pope Leo XIV on Thursday called on Cardinals gathered with him at the Vatican to experience the extraordinary consistory as a time of spiritual discernment in unity and warned against the temptation to put personal interests ahead of the common good. He told them ‘We gather not to promote personal or group ‘agendas’ but to entrust our plans and inspirations to a discernment that comes only from the Lord.’ This meeting defines the very meaning of the consistory, recalling that the word consistorium in Latin refers to the idea of “pausing.” The meeting took place across three sessions of more than three hours each. The Pope further said “Indeed, all of us have ‘paused’ in order to be here. We have set aside our activities for a time, and even cancelled important commitments, so as to discern together what the Lord is asking of us for the good of his people. This gathering is not about a “mere group of experts” but “a community of faith. Only when the gifts that each person brings are offered to the Lord and returned by him, will they bear the greatest fruit according to his providence.” The Pontiff also recalled the words of St. Leo the Great to emphasize the communal dimension of ecclesial service: “In this way,” he said, “‘the hungry are fed, the naked clothed, the sick visited, and no one seeks his or her own interests, but those of others.’” He offered the 170 Cardinals present (out of 245 alive) his “heartfelt thanks” for their service and reminding them that, even if they don’t always manage to find solutions to the problems they face, they can still collaborate. “We may not always be able to find immediate solutions to the problems we face. Yet in every place and circumstance, we will be able to help one another — and in particular, to help the Pope.” They will meet again for another consistory between June 27 and 28, and from then on, they will meet annually.
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