Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been named to a rotating post to assist the Camerlengo in preparations for the May 7 conclave that will elect the next pope.
Tagle joined the “Particular Congregation,” the composition of which was renewed during the fifth pre-conclave meeting of cardinals, known as the “General Congregation,” on Monday, April 28.
The two bodies oversee the administration of the Church during the sede vacante, or vacancy in the Holy See. Major decisions are handled by the General Congregation, which includes all members of the College of Cardinals.
Other preparatory matters are handled by the Particular Congregation, composed of the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and three cardinals.
The three cardinals are replaced by the General Congregation every three days, as provided by the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis that lays down the procedures for papal elections.
Elected along with Tagle, pro-prefect at the Dicastery for Evangelization, were Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising, who will serve as coordinator of the Council for the Economy, and French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura.
Tagle and Mamberti are frequently mentioned in media reports as papabile, or leading contenders for the papacy. Mamberti, as the cardinal proto-deacon, will also be tasked with announcing the new pope from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Monday’s General Congregation began at 9 a.m. with more than 180 cardinals in attendance, “of whom just over a hundred were electors,” according to a Vatican press office statement.
“After the prayer, the swearing-in ceremony took place, as provided for by the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis,” it said.
Twenty cardinals posed interventions during the meeting, raising “issues of particular relevance for the future of the Church: the relationship with the contemporary world and some of the challenges that are highlighted, evangelization, the relationship with other faiths, [and] the issue of abuse.”
“And there was talk of the qualities that the new Pontiff must possess to respond effectively to these challenges,” the press office said.
