Pope Leo XIV this week appointed a slate of seven new members to the Church’s highest court, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. The appointees include two Americans: Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco — who previously served as an assistant to the Signatura from 1995-2002 — and Bishop Edward Lohse of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The Apostolic Signatura is the highest judicial body under the Church’s canon law. Its name refers to its original purpose as the body that received petitions made to the Holy See and prepared them for the Pope’s “signatura” — Latin for “signature.” It was established in its current form in 1908 by Pope Pius X.
In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI changed the law to allow non-bishops to serve on the tribunal, but Pope Leo’s recent appointments — which include three priests — mark the first time non-bishops will actually become members.
But what kinds of cases does the Church’s “final court of appeal” handle? And will their membership require the new American judges to give up their dioceses and move to Rome?
Here are three things to know about the Apostolic Signatura and its members.
1. It’s the highest-ranking of the three most important courts
