As outlined in the Holy See Press Office bulletin on June 24, Leo XIV appointed 19 new members to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (DICLSAL).

The new members include five cardinals, five bishops, four priests, four religious woman and one lay woman.

Among the cardinals are certain notable figures, such as:

• Cardinal Arthur Roche: prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship under Pope Francis who led the late pontiff’s charge against the traditional Mass and enforced restrictions on it.
• Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero: Archbishop of Rabat who has supported blessings for same-sex couples in light of Fiducia Supplicans, adding that synodality is a “prophetic sign” for the world and that opponents of its decisions are “morally obligated to support” them.
• Cardinal Giorgio Marengo: the second youngest cardinal and the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, the Catholic territory encompassing Mongolia numbering around 1,000 Catholics.
• Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa: Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, famous for offering himself as a hostage exchange in 2023 and considered papabile in the May 2025 conclave.
• Cardinal Jaime Spengler: Archbishop of Porto Alegre and president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil along with the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). Spengler has given mixed messages about his support for the highly controversial Amazon rite while also supporting Fiducia Supplicans’ blessings for same-sex couples.

Other non-cardinalatial appointments to the dicastery include male and female religious superiors, along with Luisa Muston, a lay woman who leads the secular institute called the Missionaries of the Infirm “Christ the Hope.”

It is quite normal for cardinals to be appointed to various offices of the Roman Curia, particularly so for those who are already working in the Curia or who have occasion to be in Rome more frequently.

On May 9, Pope Leo already requested all Curia leaders, members, and secretaries to remain temporarily in place until further notice, meaning that a notable number of cardinals are already members of the dicastery.

But the names nevertheless always contain significance and can highlight preferences identified by the reigning Pontiff for particular Roman offices.

Pizzaballa is perceived as a conservative member of the College of Cardinals, as is Marengo, while others named by the Pope today would align more with liberal or “moderate” sectors on varying issues.

Roche is already prominent and well known for his opposition to the traditional Mass.

But Spengler and Romero have gained less notoriety in the English-speaking world. Romero was raised to the episcopate by Pope Francis in 2018, made cardinal in 2019, and participated most recently in the Synod on Synodality.

After Fiducia Supplicans and the furor over blessing same-sex couples, Romero deviated from the Africa-wide rejection of the document led by Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, and later defended his position on the text when asked by this correspondent.

The document became one of the most hotly contested of Pope Francis’ pontificate, with many theologians and prelates calling on Pope Leo to issue a formal clarification of the text.

Spengler has also defended the text. In a 2023 interview, he commented that that Church “can’t deny” blessings on same-sex couples, adding that the Church must “meet every authentically human need.”

More uniquely, Spengler has been linked to the controversial “Amazon rite” of the liturgy. Created a cardinal in December, Spengler told LifeSiteNews in October that married deacons and priests may be a help for regions with few priests, adding that the Amazon rite and indigenous inculturation of the liturgy is taking place in Brazil.

He confirmed that the local Amazonian bishops were “speaking of the possibility of a specific rite for the Amazon region – this is a fact.” However he also sought to link back to the universal Church, noting that “on the other hand there is also something that says the following guidance: today in the Latin Church we have the Roman rite and the Roman rite must be inculturated in the different realities.”

Speaking to The Pillar around the consistory in December, Spengler downplayed the idea of an Amazon rite or of female deacons and married clergy. Such questions, he said, “require further study.”

Continuing, he stated:

I always like to say that there is a single rite in the [Latin] Church: The Roman rite and this rite needs to be and is called to be adapted to the different cultural realities. Creating the conditions for this adaptation requires, I believe, the best means for us to find the necessary means for inculturation to happen harmoniously. It’s not a question of bringing in a rite from outside to make reality adapt to it. Moreover, how many cultures are there in that reality?

Increasingly prominent Vatican office

For a long time, the DICLSAL has flown somewhat under the radar, apart for those keen to stay abreast of Vatican affairs. But under Pope Francis, it became increasingly prominent, especially due to the document Cor Orans and Vultum Dei Quaerere, which ushered in tighter Vatican control over religious life and has been widely – though often quietly – used against convents and religious orders noted for being too traditional for the liking of Roman officials.

In addition to restricting already existing groups, a 2022 Rescript via the dicastery prevented diocesan bishops from autonomously establishing any groups of the faithful looking to become religious institutes or societies in a move which was described as an attempt to prevent any new traditional communities from being formed.

Not least in the reasons for the dicastery’s newfound prominence is the highly controversial appointment by Pope Francis of a religious woman – Sister Simona Brambilla, M.C. – as the prefect, rather than a cardinal, earlier this year. In order to attempt to satisfy the canonical requirement necessary when signing documents or wielding authority, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime SDB was made the pro-prefect.

Since Pope Francis’ Latin Mass restrictions contained within Traditionis Custodes, Sr. Brambilla’s dicastery has key responsibility for overseeing the orders that celebrate the traditional Mass such as the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), Institute of Christ the King Soverign Priest (CKSP), and Institute of the Good Shepherd (IBP).

The FSSP is currently undergoing an Apostolic Visitation from the dicastery after having a meeting in2022 with Pope Francis, who confirmed their constitutions and that they are exempt from the “general provisions” of Traditionis Custodes.

The arrival of a staunch anti-traditionalist figure such as Cardinal Roche to the dicastery will be key to observe what impact such an appointment has for the future of these traditional communities. It was only last year that Cardinal Gerhard Müller remarked that “a senior representative” from Roche’s office was dismayed to hear of the popularity of the Latin Mass Chartres pilgrimage, solely due to the traditional Mass being celebrated.

As of the past few weeks, the dicastery now has a female religious serving as secretary, a move welcomed by activists as a sign of continued female leadership in the Church under Leo.