Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass with the cardinals gathered at St. Peter's Basilica for his first Extraordinary Consistory, Jan. 8, 2026, in Vatican City. Simone Risoluti - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty

Pope Leo XIV has summoned Catholic cardinals from around the world to the Vatican for a meeting called an "extraordinary consistory," to seek their guidance on the Catholic Church's priorities for the years ahead.

"I am here to listen," Leo, a Chicago native and the first ever pope from the U.S., said Wednesday in his opening remarks. "This day-and-a-half together will point the way for our path ahead."

Of the 245 members of the College of Cardinals, 170 of the so-called "princes of the church" were in Vatican City to participate in the gathering.

As it got underway, Leo asked the cardinals to select two of four possible topics for detailed discussions: The missionary nature of the church, further reforms of the Vatican bureaucracy, synodality and liturgy.

A majority chose to prioritize the missionary and synodal themes over the liturgy or Vatican reforms, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni. That means the consistory is likely to focus on how to make the church more missionary, and more responsive to the needs of the faithful.

Significantly, the cardinals chose not to discuss liturgy, which would likely have seen them grapple with divisions within the church over the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass, which became a flashpoint after Pope Francis significantly restricted its use.

The Latin Mass — also known as the Tridentine mass — is controversial because it represents a form of Catholic worship that some say is out of touch with modern sensibilities. It is celebrated entirely in Latin, with the priest facing the altar and the faithful receiving communion on the tongue while kneeling. Critics argue that it can feel inaccessible and limits parishioners' participation, while supporters say it is a sacred preservation of tradition.

Merely by convening the consistory, Pope Leo's has underscored his commitment to involving the full College of Cardinals in governance of the Catholic Church, which has some 1.4 billion followers worldwide according to the Vatican.

By contrast, during his 12-year papacy, Pope Francis held only one extraordinary consistory, instead relying primarily on a small group of hand-picked advisors to help him plot the church's course — a practice that left some cardinals feeling sidelined.

Since his election at the papal conclave in May, the American pontiff's tenure has largely been shaped by commitments inherited from Francis, including the major events of the 2025 Holy Year.

By convening the consistory immediately after those Holy Year events, Leo appears to be signaling the unofficial launch of his own pontificate, and charting a course aligned with his priorities.

Leo signalled on Wednesday that his papacy would be progressive, calling the Second Vatican Council — a landmark gathering in the 1960s known as Vatican II that was seen as a significant move to modernize the Catholic Church — the "guiding star" of the Church's journey under his leadership.

Among other things, Vatican II allowed for mass to be celebrated in local languages, not just the traditional Latin. It also introduced simpler rites and encouraged more participation by active lay people in congregations, and cemented improved relations between Catholics, Jews and people of other faiths, and promoting the church's engagement with the modern world.

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