By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, May 21, 2025 / 10:46 am
Pope Leo XIV is set to convene a meeting of cardinals on June 13 to provide the final approval for the canonizations of several beatified men and women.
The upcoming ordinary public consistory will be the first of Leo’s pontificate. Pope Francis had initially called for this consistory in late February during his hospitalization, but the date had not been decided until now.
During the consistory, the cardinals will vote to approve the canonizations of five beatified individuals whose causes were advanced by Pope Francis earlier this year. This vote by the cardinals is the final step in the canonization process, allowing for the scheduling of the Mass of canonization.
One of the almost-canonized saints to be discussed on June 13 is Blessed Bartolo Longo, also known as Bartholomew Longo. Longo, an Italian layman and lawyer, had a turbulent past as a former Satanist “priest” before returning to the Catholic faith through the influence of Mary and the rosary.
The canonization of José Gregorio Hernández, a Venezuelan “doctor of the poor,” is also expected to be voted on during the June 13 consistory, along with Pietro To Rot, the first blessed from Papua New Guinea; Vincenza Maria Poloni, the founder of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona; and Ignazio Maloyan, a bishop martyred in the Armenian genocide in 1915.
The consistory will be held in the consistory hall at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, with all resident or visiting cardinals present in Rome. The event typically commences with a brief prayer session.
Additionally, the Vatican announced a series of liturgical events to be presided over by Pope Leo XIV in June, including a Mass at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran followed by a Eucharistic procession through Rome to the Basilica of St. Peter.
