Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV has made his first major appointment to the Roman Curia, naming Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O. Carm., as the new Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. The Archbishop, a seasoned Carmelite canon lawyer and jurist, has until now been serving as Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts.

The appointment, announced Friday through the Holy See Press Office, takes effect on 15 October 2025. Archbishop Iannone succeeds Cardinal Robert Prevost, who led the Dicastery for Bishops from January 2023 until the death of Pope Francis earlier this year. The transition was anticipated as one of the early decisions of Pope Leo’s pontificate, echoing a precedent set by Pope Benedict XVI, who prioritized filling leadership roles in the Curia at the beginning of his papacy.

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