The following are the impromptu words addressed by the Holy Father Leo XIV to the College of Cardinals at the end of the first session of the Extraordinary Consistory (7 January 2026):

Words of the Holy Father

Good evening again, and many thanks for all the work already done in this first session.

I would like to start just by repeating the words of one of the secretaries, the first to speak, who suggested that the journey has been as important as the conclusion of the work at the table. I would like to start from there to say, first of all, thank you for being here! I think it is very important that you are all participating in this experience as the College of Cardinals of the Church, which offers not only to us – it is not for us – offers to the Church and the world a certain testimony of will, of desire, recognizing the value of being together, of making the sacrifice of a journey – for some of you, very long – to come to stay together and to be able to seek together what the Holy Spirit wants for the Church today and tomorrow. So for this reason, I truly think it is important, even if it is a very short time, but it is a very important time for me too, because I feel, I experience the need to be able to count on you: it is you who have called this servant to this mission! So, I would like to say that I think it is important that we work together, that we discern together, that we seek what the Spirit is asking of us.

If you will allow me, I will repeat some words from yesterday’s homily on the Feast of the Epiphany. Many of you were present, but I will say it again. “Let us ask ourselves: is there life in our Church?”. I am convinced that there is, certainly. In recent months, if I had not experienced it before, I have certainly had many beautiful experiences of the life of the Church. But the question remains: is there life in our Church? “Is there space for something new to be born? Do we love and proclaim a God who sets us on a journey?”. close ourselves off and say, “Everything is already done, finished, do as we have always done”. There really is a path, and with the work of these days, we are walking together.

“In the Gospel reading, Herod fears for his throne and is agitated about those things that he feels are beyond his control. He tries to take advantage of the wishes of the Magi by manipulating their quest”. Herod “is ready to lie, he is willing to do anything. Fear does indeed blind us. Conversely, the joy of the Gospel liberates us. It makes us prudent, yes, but also bold, attentive and creative; it beckons us along ways that are different to those already travelled”. This [meeting] is for me one of the many expressions in which we can truly live an experience of the newness of the Church. The Holy Spirit is living and present also among us. How wonderful it is to be together in the boat! That image that Cardinal Radcliffe offered us in his reflection this afternoon, as if to say: let us stay together. There may be things that frighten us; there may be doubts: where are we going? How will it all end? But if we place our trust in the Lord, in his presence, we can do so much.

Thank you for your choices. I think the choice of all the tables is quite clear, by a large majority. And it seems very important to me, from the other comments made, that one theme cannot be separated from another. In fact, there is much that we can see together. But we want to be a Church that does not look only at itself, that is missionary, that looks beyond itself, at others. The raison d'être of the Church is not for cardinals, bishops or clergy. Its raison d'être is to proclaim the Gospel. And so these two themes: Synod and synodality, as an expression of seeking to be a missionary Church in today's world, and Evangelii gaudium, proclaiming the kerygma, the Gospel with Christ at its centre. This is our mission.

And so I thank you. This will help us to organize ourselves for our work in the two sessions tomorrow. The other themes will not be lost. They are very concrete, specific issues that we still need to look at. I hope that each of you feels truly free to communicate with me or with others, and we will continue this process of dialogue and discernment.

So, that is all. Thank you for this service. I don’t know if I went over three minutes: the moderator was very kind! Have a good evening, and we will see each other tomorrow morning.