Pope Francis has named Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the Council of Cardinals. As the African representative on the advisory body, he replaces Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, who resigned late in 2018.
The Pope also promoted Bishop Marco Mellino to be secretary of the Council; he had been serving as an assistant to the outgoing secretary, Bishop Marcello Semeraro, who has been named prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Along with the new appointments, the Vatican announced on October 15 that the Pope has confirmed the continued appointments of the other members of the Council of Cardinals:
Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, who is coordinator of the group;
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State;
Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, the president of the Vatican city-state governorate;
Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay,
Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich; and
Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston.
