Leo XIV and the beginning of the generational change

Cardinal Agostino Vallini is 85 years old and has not held any Vatican office for some time. Since 2017, however, he had been papal legate to the Papal Basilicas of Assisi, a position to which Pope Francis had appointed him following the death of Cardinal Attilio Nicora. On July 16, Vallini also left that position.

Also last week, Pope Leo XIV appointed Cardinal Miguel Ángel Fernández Artime, a Salesian and the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life, as his legate to Assisi. The changes were not earth-shattering. In fact, they were barely noticed even in the Catholic press.

Taken together, however, they really mark the end of an era, or rather the beginning of a generational change. Vallini was on the central loggia with Pope Francis in 2013, and as the Pope’s vicar for the diocese of Rome (in 2008, Vallini succeeded the legendary cardinal vicar of the John Paul II era, Camillo Ruini), he accompanied Francis on all his first outings, starting with his first visit to Saint Mary Major, which would become a constant feature of Francis’s pontificate and is his final resting place.

Vallini cannot be considered a Pope Francis cardinal, yet he was a key figure in the first era of Francis’s pontificate, until his retirement. The fact that he no longer holds any office speaks to a Vatican world that will rapidly change its demography and reference points.

In the coming months, Leo XIV will be called upon to manage a generational change that will also represent a change of era. Cardinals Kurt Koch, Kevin J. Farrell, Marcello Semeraro, Arthur Roche, and Michael Czerny have all turned 75. Thus, the dicasteries for Promoting Christian Unity, Laity, Family and Life, Causes of Saints, Divine Worship, and Integral Human Development will have new leaders.

Not all new dicastery heads will be cardinals. But, considering that only next year will the number of cardinal electors drop to the established limit of 120, it’s unlikely that Leo XIV will create them cardinals right away.

This decision, however, would not affect the implementation of Praedicate Evangelium , the apostolic constitution with which Pope Francis reformed the Curia. The new heads of dicasteries might not be cardinals simply because Leo XIV could decide it inappropriate to swell the number of red hats, which Pope Francis had already brought to excess of 120 voting members.

It is interesting, however, that the generational change begins with an appointment considered “minor”, namely that of the papal legate for the Papal Basilicas of Assisi.

The papal Basilicas of Assisi have been directly subject to the Pope since the bull Is Qui Ecclesiam of Gregory IX, promulgated on 22 April 1230. In 1753, Benedict XIV, with the apostolic constitution, Fidelis Dominum, elevated the Basilica of Assisi to the rank of “Patriarchal Basilica” — a title which later fell into disuse when Benedict XVI decided to eliminate the title of “Patriarch of the West” from the Pontifical Yearbook.

In 1968, Paul VI decided to assign to the Basilica a cardinal legate resident in Rome with the power to exercise, in the name of the Pontiff, the ordinariam et immediatam iurisdictionem over the Basilica, granting him at the same time the right to delegate this jurisdiction to the Custodian of the Sacred Convent as his vicar.

Benedict XVI modified the status of the Basilica with the motu proprio Totius Orbis which assigned to the bishop of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino “the jurisdiction provided by law over churches and religious houses with regard to all pastoral activities”.
Benedict XVI also established that there be a cardinal as his legate, “who, although not enjoying jurisdiction, will have the task of perpetuating with his moral authority the close bonds of communion between the places sacred to the memory of the Poverello and this Apostolic See.”

In short, Cardinal Artime has not been transferred to another position. His role as “pro-prefect” remains (and remains a strange legal and institutional configuration, since “pro” means “in place of” but Artime works alongside the prefect of the dicastery, Sr. Simona Brambilla, who, among other things, not being a priest, cannot make disciplinary decisions regarding priests).

Leo XIV, therefore, did not completely change the reform desired by Pope Francis. He did, however, demonstrate a different set of interests, and above all, a greater attention to his institutional role.

It remains to be seen how this institutional focus will translate into practice. For now, we have seen a shift in attitude, with a greater attention to symbols and protocol that has spread to all the cardinals.

Now, Leo XIV begins the generational change, starting from Assisi, reassuring those who would expect a radical and rapid change. Step by step, he will make decisions, sometimes surprising and sometimes not.

So, what kind of Curia is expected to surround Leo XIV?

So far, the people personally chosen by the Pope—his personal secretary, his travel director—have certain character traits in common: tranquility, loyalty, and a sense of duty. It’s likely that the other choices of direct collaborators will also move in this direction.

Leo XIV is not a Pope solitario y final, as Pope Francis was, but he will have a learning curve as he begins to delegate, which he must. Meanwhile, Leo is in Castel Gandolfo and at work on his first encyclical, the subject of which is still unclear. Then, he will build his team, and from there we can deduce the direction his pontificate might take. At least initially.
Leo XIV is a young Pope, and he has at least one more major generational change to manage in his life.