A couple of weeks ago Pope Leo met with Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas.
Thus, with evidence, I predict Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas will be replacing Cardinal Gambetti. Do I hear an Amen?
He is the head of the Major Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome and is very friendly to private Masses celebrated there as well as the TLM. In fact the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage in Rome in a couple of weeks will have its Mass there on the main altar, which, of course, and everyone knows, has the Mass celebrated ad orientem since the time of Constantine—meaning when the celebrant celebrates at the altar, although facing the nave, he is facing the geographical east as does every major basilica in Rome except for the Basiilica of St. Paul outside the wall which has the celebrant facing toward the papal altar in St. Peter’s, which itself faces the geographical east.
This is a google translation of Infovaticana’s article printed in Spanish on Pope Leo’s ouster of Cardinal Gambetti to a practically unknown lesser See in Abruzzo:
On Friday, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti informed the canons of the Vatican Chapter—during a meeting he himself convened—that the Holy See would announce his appointment as archbishop of a diocese the following day, Saturday, October 3. The cardinal, who appeared with a noticeable bandage on his head following a minor recent procedure to remove a mole, declined to name the see "out of respect for protocol and the Holy Father," though no one in Rome has the slightest doubt: it is the Abruzzo archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto. Nor did he mention who would succeed him as Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica—details reported by *Il Tempo* Vatican correspondent Francesco Capozza on his X account and echoed by the Abruzzo press, such as *Abruzzo Popolare*.
The news puts an end to months of rumors and confirms what Capozza himself had long been predicting. On Tuesday, September 30, the Roman journalist stated on X that Gambetti’s removal as Archpriest of the Vatican basilica was a "matter of hours" and that his destination was the one Capozza had revealed months earlier: Chieti-Vasto, which might also be united *in persona episcopi* with the archdiocese of Lanciano-Ortona. This morning, hours before the meeting with the canons, Capozza reiterated his claims with an unequivocal message: the appointment would be announced on Saturday "barring surprises or further attempts to cling to the seat," adding that the Pope has decided to send the current Vicegerent of Rome, Monsignor Renato Tarantelli Baccari, to Pescara. What *Il Tempo* has been reporting since the summer of 2025
The Rome-based newspaper was the first to publicly link Gambetti to the new pontiff's dissatisfaction. In an extensive analysis published on August 25, 2025, titled "Pope Leo: The Prevost Era Begins (Now) with a Silent Revolution," Capozza described Leo XIV's intention to dismantle the network of Jesuits and Franciscans that Francis had installed in the Vatican. This process began with the Archpriest of St. Peter's—"summoned to Rome directly from Assisi and having transitioned with lightning speed from the humble habit to the cardinal's purple." The article noted that the Franciscan—"widely criticized for his lackluster management of the most important church in the Catholic world"—had been under the Pope's scrutiny since the very first ceremonies held in the basilica. It further stated that after the replacement of his protégé, Father Enzo Fortunato, as head of the Committee for World Children's Day, Gambetti himself would be the next to go. A telling message arrived from Assisi, the Vatican expert concluded: "We do not want Gambetti back here."
Criticism intensified in October 2025, when a man managed to bypass basilica security and urinate on the Altar of the Confession, which is reserved for the Pope. *Il Tempo* reported at the time that Leo XIV had met privately with Gambetti to express his "dismay" over the incident and had ordered him to hold a penitential rite of reparation as soon as possible. This was just one of several sacrilegious episodes during his tenure, a period in which the basilica became associated with security lapses and a management style more concerned with administrative reorganization than with preserving the temple's sacred and traditional character—as *InfoVaticana* had reported the previous July.
1 comment:
I've been impressed with Cardinal Mackrickas too, in particular the hands-on approach that he's taken to the daily pastoral work of the basilica. But surely it's too soon to shift him to a new post: he's only been there five minutes?
All the talk of Guido Marini getting the St Peter's role seems to have dried up.
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