Pope Francis may continue to make changes in the Roman Curia

Vatican City, Jun 18, 2021 / 10:19 am

As the completion of curia reform approaches, Pope Francis would be moving towards some changes. The pope's next moves might be the appointment of a new Master of Ceremonies and the appointment of a president for the Committee to prepare the Jubilee 2025.  

Msgr. Guido Marini has been the Papal Master of Ceremonies since 2007. Called to the position by Benedict XVI and well known for his rather traditional approach to liturgy, Mons. Marini was able to cooperate with Pope Francis, even if sometimes their views on liturgy differed. According to sources speaking to CNA, Monsignor Marini would be appointed a bishop in Italy. 

Marini's replacement, according to the sources, should not be interpreted as a punishment. It is, instead, a clue that Pope Francis wants no “permanent” positions in the curia.

The pope might send Marini to Tortona, a diocese near Liguria, Marini's birthplace. The diocese is vacant since the Pope picked its bishop as secretary of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments. 

There are three candidates to replace Marini as Master of Ceremonies, according to the sources. One is Fr. Giuseppe Midili, director of the Liturgical Office of Rome's Vicariate. The second is Msgr. Diego Ravelli, already one of the Papal Master of Ceremonies; and finally Msgr. Pietro Moroni, Dean of the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Urbanian University and consultor of the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

Meanwhile, curia reform continues to be under discussion. Originally scheduled to be announced by the end of June, the draft reform should come out next autumn, according to a cardinal who spoke with CNA. 

According to the cardinal, the delay is in part due to discussions regarding how to merge smaller dicasteries with larger ones. In fact, in the first draft of the reform, the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization was going to be absorbed by the Congregation for Evangelization. The purpose of the merging was to combine into one dicastery traditional and new evangelization.

Things have changed, and now the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization should become an office within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The president of the Council, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, might be appointed president of the Jubilee 2025 Preparatory Committee. A Jubilee, or ordinary “Holy Year”, happens every 25 years. The last ordinary Holy Year was headed by St. John Paul II in the year 2000. Fisichella, who already successfully organized the 2015 Special Holy Year or “The Year of Mercy,” would bring his experience organizing major events.