Pope Leo XIV appointed two undersecretaries of the General Secretariat of the Synod, which remains under the leadership of its secretary general, Cardinal Mario Grech.
Father Giacomo Costa, S.J., the special secretary of the synods on youth (2018) and synodality (2021-2024), succeeds Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, O.S.A., who was appointed prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity in March. (The functions of the papally appointed special secretary are described in the apostolic constitution Episcopalis Communio.)
Sister Elena Massimi, F.M.A., succeeds Sister Nathalie Becquart, X.M.C.J., who has spoken frequently on the topic of synodality. Sister Massimi is president of the Association of Professors and Scholars of Liturgy, and head of Liturgical Music at the National Liturgical Office of the Italian Episcopal Conference.
Cardinal Grech said that “Father Giacomo accompanied the Assembly from within and knows its method; Sister Elena comes from liturgy and music, and so she knows what it means to build unity, to harmonize different voices without reducing them to a single note. This is exactly what the implementation phase [of the synod on synodality] needs.”