Pope Leo XIV approves new Vatican Сonstitution

The Vatican flag outside Pius XII Square. Photo: EWTN News

On August 31, 2026, Pope Leo XIV signed a new Vatican constitution formally allowing non-cardinals to hold the highest administrative posts. This was reported by the National Catholic Register.

The document formally establishes the right of laypeople and women to head the Pontifical Commission and the Governorate of Vatican City State. The new constitution was adopted in response to the administrative and regulatory changes of recent years. Previously, membership in the governing commission was strictly limited to cardinals, but that requirement has now been definitively abolished.

In effect, the new law gives full legal status to an appointment practice that had previously existed on uncertain juridical grounds. In 2025, Sister Raffaella Petrini became the first woman – and the first person without the rank of cardinal – to be appointed president of the commission and governor of Vatican City State.

Leo XIV first issued a special decree in 2025 to resolve the legal issue, while the 2026 constitution has now permanently enshrined the changes in the state's law.

The reform also affects the role of the general counsellor, who will now participate in commission meetings and provide expert advice. The law also clearly defines the responsibilities of the secretary of state in implementing the policies set by the commission's president.

The new rules replace the 2023 constitution issued by Pope Francis, which emphasized the Pope's exclusive authority. The new Fundamental Law is the fourth in the history of the sovereign Vatican City State since its creation in 1929. The first constitution remained in force until 2000, when it was replaced by a document promulgated by Pope John Paul II.

As previously reported by the UOJ, a Vatican delegation venerated the relics of a pope in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

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