According to the present regulations, the prefects of the Vatican dicasteries must resign when they reach the age of 75.

Newsroom (30/04/2024 19:35, Gaudium Press) Rumors are circulating that the Pope is preparing to replace several senior officials in the Vatican Curia. According to the regulations, the prefects of the Vatican dicasteries (equivalent to ministries in the secular world) must submit their resignation at the age of 75. However, resignations may or may not be accepted by the pope, since they are allowed to work until the age of 80.

Currently, out of a total of 18 dicastery prefects, 4 are over 75 and 2 will reach that age in the next 12 months. This number increases if we take into account the members of the Council of Cardinals – known as the C9 – the civil government of the Vatican City-State, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre or the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

On the council of cardinals, there are two cardinals who will turn 80 in the coming months. One of them is Cardinal Archbishop Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston, on June 29, and the other is Cardinal Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, on December 24.

Spanish Cardinal Fernando Vérgez will also be turning 80 soon, next March. Since 2021, he has been the president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and the Vatican City Government. In his report on the subject, Javier Martínez-Brocal, the Spanish newspaper ABC correspondent in Rome, mentions that “Francis could choose to replace him with a woman”.

The correspondent says that “it is likely that Brazilian Cardinal Braz de Aviz, who has just turned 77, will be replaced in the coming months”. Among the names “being considered for the post is Spanish Cardinal Angel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians”. The Pope had told the Salesian that he was counting on him for a specific position from July 31, and so the Salesians are already preparing to choose his successor.

Although they are over 75, figures such as Cardinal Michael Czerny (77), Prefect of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, and Cardinal Kevin Farrell (76), Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, would not be among those to be replaced; the former because the Pope appointed him in 2022 “until you turn 80”

In December, Cardinal Fernando Filoni’s mandate as Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre ends (78), but it could be extended due to the Order’s influence in the Middle East, considering the difficult situation in this region.

The average age of Roman Curia officials is 69 and a half.

Compiled by Teresa Joseph