Leo XIV, the long transition

Pope Leo XIV’s decision to return the celebration of the Missa in coena Domini – the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper -- to his cathedral basilica of St. John Lateran is another step in the new pope’s deliberate work to re-establish traditional papal customs.

By restoring this and other practices, Leo XIV is mending the papal connection with the diocese of Rome, a bond widely perceived as weakened under Pope Francis.

Importantly, Leo XIV’s actions are not a direct rejection of Pope Francis, but a conscious return to tradition. While avoiding controversy, Leo XIV reinforces continuity by honoring his predecessor’s initiatives, even as he shifts the Church back to established norms.

Leo XIV’s choices, such as wearing traditional papal garments, underscore his rejection of exceptionalism and his commitment to restoring tradition. These actions emphasize his intent to serve the Church by upholding time-honored symbols and practices.

The question of the connection with Rome was crucial.

Leo XIV first restored the central sector of the Diocese of Rome, which had been juridically eliminated by Francis, who did not want one sector to appear more important than the others.

Now, Leo has decided to resume celebrating Holy Thursday in the Lateran, a custom Francis had eschewed in favor of his own personal practice during his time in Buenos Aires, where he would celebrate Holy Thursday for prison inmates.

When Leo XIV returns to live in the Apostolic Palace, the bond with Rome will be further reinforced.

Romans, it is important to understand, love to see the light on in the papal apartment above St. Peter’s Square, and they often stroll in the piazza beneath it to feel close to the pontiff.

All that disappeared during Pope Francis’s pontificate, but it will return with Leo XIV.

The January 7-8 consistory, meanwhile, was expected to mark the launch of the new pontificate.

Signs, however, now indicate a longer transition than anticipated even by longtime observers including this one.

First, the reports.

Messa in Latino published four reports distributed to the cardinals during the consistory: One on synodality, by Cardinal Mario Grech; another on the reforms of the Curia, by Cardinal Fabio Baggio; another on doctrine, drafted by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez; another on liturgical reform, by Cardinal Arthur Roche.

The only speaker who isn’t yet a prefect is Cardinal Fabio Baggio, and this has led to speculation that the Pope is predicting a bright future for him as head of the dicastery for integral human development (where he currently serves in the unusual Francis-era position of cardinal-undersecretary for the migrants section). But, of course, this is just speculation.

One particularly striking thing is that Leo chose cardinals with strong ties to the pontificate of Pope Francis to prepare the documents.

Cardinal Grech was the one who advanced the synodal process desired by Francis, and in fact defended that approach in his report to the consistory—although he prudently began his text by referring to the Pope’s primacy and total power over the process itself.

Cardinal Baggio was Francis’s man on the issues of migrants and refugees. His text on the reform of the Curia demonstrates above all a desire to characterise the reform’s missionary vision—and it could not be otherwise, given that Baggio is himself a Scalabrinian missionary.

Cardinal Fernandez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, was a faithful and trusted friend of Pope Francis. In his report, dedicated to the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, he is especially keen to emphasise that the prophetic thrust of Pope Francis’s pontificate is not over.

Finally, Cardinal Roche, appointed by Francis as Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, helped the Pope implement his crackdown on celebrating the Mass in its ancient usage. In his statement, Roche defended his decision, emphasising that divisions should not be “frozen,” but rather moved toward unity.

There are several reasons why the Pope may have chosen these four specific speakers.

The first is eminently practical: they head the dicasteries, assist the Pope in governing today, and represent continuity with the previous pontificate. Excluding them would have been an act of war. Including them means seeking communion.

The Pope’s inclusion of these key cardinals also reflects his strategic assessment of the current College of Cardinals, as he weighs the lingering influence of Pope Francis while Leo XIV guides the Church through this extended transition.

The third is somewhat speculative, and more than a little Machiavellian, but it may just be the case that Leo wanted to bring a few actors who could have otherwise worked against his pontificate for purely ideological reasons, just a little ways into the light.

Fourth, but no less important, is that this is the human material available, and the Pope will trust the fidelity and good faith of each person until something makes him think otherwise.

Everything suggests, however, that the transition will be a long one.

Meanwhile, rumours are multiplying about upcoming Curia moves. Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will soon turn 80, and –as I noted earlier – there is already chatter about Baggio replacing him.

Others are talking about Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich’s arrival in Rome, while another rumor suggests a promotion for Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s “foreign minister.”

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, has also reached the age of 75 and is retiring.

Cardinals Farrell, Semeraro, and Roche are also approaching retirement (all over 75). At the end of the year, Cardinal You will also be added to the list of potential retirees.

There is also talk of restructuring the Dicastery for Institutes of Religious Life, currently led by a prefect, Sister Simona Brambilla, and a pro-prefect, Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime.

Fernandez Artime, however, seems to have taken an increasingly central role, and the idea is for the Pope to create a “bicephalous” dicastery, with two prefects: one for religious women and one for men religious. This would be a “Solomonic” solution.

The generational change, however, must also be accompanied by reforms. Not to mention that Leo XIV will have to address several unresolved issues. One of these is the so-called “Becciu trial” over the management of the Secretariat of State’s funds. Leo XIV decided not to intervene in the trial but to accept the course of justice, and Leo’s decision to do nothing has already produced some dramatic developments.

The latest is the Promoter of Justice Alessandro Diddi’s decision to step away from the appeal. Diddi not only had his prosecutorial appeal motion rejected by the high court of Vatican City, but also found himself under fire over a series of wiretaps that showed him in contact with individuals who were also pressuring another witness, Monsignor Alberto Perlasca.

Diddi has left the scene, the court has already demonstrated how it intends to administer justice, and the climate within the court is completely new. Here too, the Leo XIV effect is at work.

It remains to be seen whether the Pope will be able to bring this effect to all areas.