Pope Leo XIV appointed Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, as members of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. The commission, led by Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, is the state’s legislative body.
Pope Leo also affirmed the mandates of four of the commission’s members: Cardinals Kevin Farrell, Arthur Roche, Lazarus You Heung-sik, and Claudio Gugerotti, all prefects of Vatican dicasteries. The Pope, however, did not affirm the appointments of 81-year-old Cardinal Leonardo Sandri (Argentina) and Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, who remains vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City as well as archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Pope’s appointment of Cardinal Cupich to the commission comes less than a month after several US bishops criticized his decision to give Sen. Richard Durbin a lifetime achievement award.