Evangelii Gaudium and the mission of the Church, the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium on the role of the Curia and its relationship with the particular Churches, sodality, and the liturgy. These will be the topics on which the extraordinary Consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV, the first of his pontificate, will focus today, Wednesday, January 7, and tomorrow, Thursday, January 8.

Two days of prayer, sharing, and reflection, as a sign of fraternity and communion, will be spent by the Pope with the members of the College of Cardinals, many of whom participated this Tuesday in the closing of the Holy Door and the Mass of the Epiphany. The gathering will be aimed at “fostering common discernment and offering support and counsel to the Holy Father in the exercise of his high and grave responsibility in governing the universal Church.”

Specifically, the consistory will open this afternoon at 4:00 PM in the Synod Hall of the Vatican. The proceedings will be held behind closed doors and will be attended by the Pope. The following day, January 8, he will concelebrate Mass with the cardinals at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The morning session will take place at 9:30 a.m. and continue until 12:45 p.m., again in the Synod Hall. The Pope and the cardinals will then meet again in the afternoon, from 3:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., concluding the two-day meeting.