In a letter of June 3, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, has outlined the program for the upcoming consistory. The meeting will take place on June 26–27, 2026, at the Vatican, over four sessions. Participants will study the encyclical Magnifica humanitas, discuss the international situation, and review the ongoing implementation of the Synod. A Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV on Monday, June 29, will conclude the gathering.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re has released the schedule for the June 26–27 extraordinary consistory, focusing on the latest encyclical and global peace.
A new annual tradition
This new extraordinary consistory, which Leo XIV announced in January 2026, will be held behind closed doors. Both voting and non-voting cardinals have been invited to attend. During the previous gathering on January 7 and 8, the pontiff explained that these meetings address specific requests made during the conclave. He further noted that, starting in 2027, these consistories will become a regular annual fixture lasting three or four days.
In his letter, the 92-year-old Italian cardinal explains that the Pope wishes to “gather the experience and counsel” of the College. In January, 170 cardinals met at the Vatican and selected their own discussion topics through a vote at the start of the assembly.
This time, however, Leo XIV has set the agenda in advance. The first session, scheduled for the morning of Friday, June 26, will focus on the international situation. The cardinals will reflect together on the “suffering, tensions, and challenges” currently affecting the world, while searching for “signs of hope, fidelity to the Gospel, and prospects for reconciliation” that the cardinals should make known to their peers.
Focus on peace and ‘Magnifica humanitas’
The second and third sessions, taking place on the afternoon of Friday, June 26, and the morning of Saturday, June 27, will be devoted to an in-depth study of the encyclical Magnifica humanitas. The cardinals are expected to discuss integral human development and the theological implications of the “just war” doctrine in the modern era.
The final session on the afternoon of Saturday, June 27, will open with a presentation on the implementation of the Synod. This vast consultative process, originally launched by Pope Francis, continues to engage Catholics worldwide in a transition toward a more open and participatory and less clerical Church. Following the presentation, the cardinals will have time for an open exchange with Leo XIV on any topics they wish to raise.
Synod updates and the pallium Mass
On Sunday, June 28, no formal sessions are scheduled. The cardinals will not celebrate a communal Sunday Mass, leaving them free to celebrate at their respective titular churches throughout Rome.
The consistory will officially conclude the next day, on Monday, June 29, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. Pope Leo XIV will preside over a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica to bestow the pallium on new metropolitan archbishops, marking the end of the high-level meetings.
