Pope Leo XIV announced plans for a second consistory in June, and pledged to hold such meetings annually — a move widely seen as signaling a more collegial and consultative style of leadership at the Vatican.

St. John Paul II convened six extraordinary consistories during his 26-year pontificate, while Pope Benedict XVI chose to hold consultative meetings with the cardinals on the eve of the ordinary consistories. In total, he held three such meetings during his pontificate.

Speaking at his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV said the Vatican II ecumenical council has “prophetic and contemporary relevance.”

Pope Leo stressed that the cardinals “may feel inadequate,” faced with the pressing challenges of the contemporary world “where satisfaction and hunger, abundance and suffering, and the struggle for survival together with a desperate existential emptiness continue to divide and wound individuals, communities and nations.”

The “Pray with the Pope” initiative is part of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which, during the pontificate of Pope Francis, launched the project known as “The Pope’s Video,” through which the faithful were invited each month to unite in prayer for a specific intention.