The Pope publicly rebuked Sarah for suggesting that priests start to celebrate Mass ad orientem, or with their backs to the congregation, and for alleging that the relationship between the Holy See and bishops on liturgical translations is like that of a parent toward a child’s homework or an academic supervisor to a student. He stayed in office for more than six years despite making public interventions on the liturgy which were at odds with the Pope’s desire to implement the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The Vatican announced on Saturday 20 February that the Pope has accepted the cardinal’s resignation, which was submitted last summer when the Guinean prelate turned 75, the retirement age for bishops.Ĭardinal Sarah was appointed by Francis in 2014. You can watch a Salt + Light interview with Archbishop Roche from 2015, discussing the new translation of the missal, below.Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Holy See’s liturgy prefect whose vision of the Church clashed with the one articulated by Pope Francis, is leaving his post. He has previously been an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, the Catholic Church’s archdiocese in London, and a general secretary of the bishops’ conference of England and Wales.

Roche was brought to Rome from Leeds in 2012 by retired Pope Benedict XVI. In a March interview with Catholic News Service, Roche compared the consultation process to how a bishop might consult with a parish before appointing a new pastor. Aurelio Marcias, formerly a department head at the office, will now serve as its under-secretary.Īfter Sarah’s resignation, Francis had taken the unusual step of asking that an outside expert consult with the Vatican office’s staff to review its procedures and consider what might be needed in a new prefect. Bishop Vittorio Viola, until now the head of the Italian Diocese of Tortona, north of Genoa, will serve as secretary. Sarah had turned 75, the traditional retirement age for bishops, in June 2020.īeyond Roche, Francis also appointed new No. Roche had been leading the Vatican office on an interim basis since February, when the pope accepted Sarah’s resignation. Unlike his predecessor Sarah, who was often seen as an opponent of Francis’ vision for the global church, Roche is not known to maintain a Twitter account, nor to often given interviews. 2 official at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments since 2012, is now the office’s prefect.Ī former head of the Diocese of Leeds, England, Roche is known in Rome as something of a quiet voice, not often stepping into the limelight except for official press conferences or announcements.

Pope Francis on May 27 named a relatively low-profile British prelate to replace Cardinal Robert Sarah as the leader of the Vatican office charged with overseeing most of the global Catholic Church’s liturgical rites.Īrchbishop Arthur Roche, who had served as the No.

Cardinal sarah