Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who leads the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, succeeded Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re on Oct. 9.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been elected dean of the College of Cardinals, succeeding Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who has held the position since 2020. The Filipino prelate is the first Asian to serve as dean.
The Vatican announced Tagle’s appointment on Oct. 9. In the same announcement, Pope Leo XIV approved Tagle’s election one day earlier, on Oct. 8, and accepted Re’s resignation that day.
According to canon law, the cardinal dean is elected from among the cardinal bishops (12 cardinal-bishops as of October 2026). Among the dean’s responsibilities is to summon the cardinals to Rome on the pope’s behalf, particularly for a papal conclave. However, he has no governing authority over them.
After Leo XIV’s election to the papacy, all curial officials automatically lost their positions. However, Leo confirmed Re as dean and Argentine cardinal
