Pope Francis received the members of the episcopal council of the Vicariate of Rome on April 8, two days after he named Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, his vicar for Rome since 2017, as Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary.
“Due to the delicacy of the office of Cardinal Vicar, Pope Francis informed the bishops, his close collaborators, that he would take time to make a healthy discernment on the figure of the person whom he will appoint to fill this role,” according to a statement from the communications office of the Vicariate of Rome.