Pope Leo has appointed Cardinal Stephen Brislin of Johannesburg to the Dicastery for the Clergy, a Vatican department that oversees priests, deacons, and seminaries worldwide.
The Dicastery’s main responsibilities are:
Formation: Ensuring seminarians, priests, and deacons receive solid spiritual, pastoral, and academic training.
Support & Welfare: Helping bishops care for clergy through ongoing formation, guidance, and discipline.
Seminaries: Approving and monitoring guidelines for priestly and diaconal formation.
Dispensations: Handling requests for release from clerical obligations.
Administration: Overseeing clergy councils, archives, finances, and church property.
Cardinal Stephen’s appointment means he will help shape global policies on how priests and deacons are formed and supported. His African and South African experience will bring valuable perspective to the Vatican’s work in this vital area of the Church.
