Pope Leo XIV continues revising Francis-era structures, dissolving the Pontifical Commission for World Children’s Day for tighter Vatican governance.
Newsroom (17/02/2026 Gaudium Press ) Pope Leo XIV has dissolved the Pontifical Commission for World Children’s Day, marking the latest adjustment in his ongoing recalibration of Vatican governance structures. The decision, enacted through a Feb. 13 chirograph, follows a growing pattern of reversals of initiatives introduced in the later years of Pope Francis’ pontificate.
The suppression of the commission, which was established in November 2024 after the first Vatican-sponsored World Children’s Day, points to Pope Leo’s preference for tighter institutional integration. In the chirograph, the Holy Father officially repealed the commission’s statutes and relieved its president, vice president, and all members of their duties, declaring that all acts and regulations adopted by the commission “cease to have legal effect in canon and civil law.”
Under the new arrangement, the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life assumes competence over matters previously managed by the commission. It is tasked with settling outstanding accounts and presenting a liquidation balance sheet to the Secretariat for the Economy. Despite the structural change, the Vatican confirmed that World Children’s Day celebrations will continue, slated this year for September 25–27.
A Shift Toward Centralized Governance
The dissolution represents more than an administrative maneuver. It signals Pope Leo’s discernible strategy to streamline internal governance—drawing functions once independent under the supervision of established dicasteries. Within Vatican circles, this is seen as a reassertion of curial discipline and continuity with the Holy See’s broader reform ethos: that of making Vatican governance leaner, more transparent, and more accountable.
The move also ends the brief Vatican position of Fr. Enzo Fortunato, OFM Conv., who served as the commission’s president. Fortunato, a familiar figure in Vatican communications, previously directed communications for Saint Peter’s Basilica before resigning in early 2025 following controversy over a security breach and an unauthorized papal video aired at the Sanremo Music Festival. His departure underscores a quiet but clear recalibration of personnel and priorities within Leo’s Vatican.
Building on Earlier Reforms
The Children’s Day commission suppression follows several other retreats from late-Francis initiatives. On February 1, Leo XIV reinstated subsidized Vatican housing for senior prelates—a benefit that Francis had curtailed in 2023. Last December, the pope also dissolved the Donations Commission, which had been created just ten months earlier by Francis to oversee charitable financial flows.
In each case, the Holy Father’s interventions were tied to oversight recommendations from the Vatican’s financial watchdog bodies, particularly the Council for the Economy. The Council, according to Vatican sources, has been intimately involved in the pope’s continuing review of curial functions and fiscal offices.
Revisiting the Rome Diocese Structure
Perhaps the most structurally significant reversal came in November 2025, when Pope Leo revoked Francis’ 2024 reorganization of the Diocese of Rome. Through his motu proprio Immota manet, Leo restored the capital’s five prefectures as the “central sector” of the diocese, reversing a reform that had fragmented its internal governance. Observers noted that the change brought stability after tensions surfaced between diocesan priests and their former vicar—a situation emblematic of Leo’s desire for greater alignment between local governance and papal oversight.
Continuity and Correction
Taken together, these actions form an unmistakable pattern. While Pope Leo XIV has preserved many pastoral themes of his predecessor—including those tied to children, family, and evangelization—his approach is marked by juridical precision and a drive for internal coherence. In contrast to the vibrant consultative style that characterized Pope Francis, Leo appears intent on cautious, central administration guided by canonical and economic consistency.
For Catholics attentive to the life of the Church, these adjustments may not represent repudiation but refinement—a renewed focus on unity within the Church’s governance. As one Vatican observer put it, Pope Leo is “quietly rebalancing, not dismantling” what came before, favoring a Vatican that is more focused, less fragmented, and oriented toward evangelical mission with institutional clarity.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from The Pillar
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