Pope Leo appoints Archbishop Cordileone to Vatican’s highest court

VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV has appointed the archbishop of San Francisco to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

On Saturday, July 5, the Holy See Press Office announced that Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone was one of the prelates appointed by the Holy Father to the Supreme Tribunal, the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church after the Pope himself.

The archbishop expressed his gratitude to Pope Leo that same day through a post on X: “I am deeply grateful to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, for appointing me as a member of the Supreme Apostolic Signatura.”

“I receive this responsibility with a profound sense of stewardship, recognizing that every office in the Church is entrusted for the service of Christ, His people, and the mission of the Gospel,” he continued.

“As we commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Transitus of our patron, St. Francis of Assisi, I pray that his example of humble fidelity to Christ and joyful service to others will continue to shape my ministry.”

The archbishop concluded by asking for prayer for the Pope, the Church, and himself.

I am deeply grateful to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, for appointing me as a member of the Supreme Apostolic Signatura. I receive this responsibility with a profound sense of stewardship, recognizing that every office in the Church is entrusted for the service of Christ, His…

— Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone (@ArchCordileone) July 25, 2026

READ: Archbishop Cordileone rallies behind bishop calling for Notre Dame to demote pro-abortion professor

Pope Leo also appointed to the Supreme Tribunal prelates including Bishop Edward M. Lohse of Kalamazoo, Michigan; Bishop Krzysztof Nitkiewicz of Sandomierz, Poland; and Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, the former Secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts.

The Pope also named a handful of academics to the group: Opus Dei Father Eduardo Baura de la Peña, a professor of Canon Law at Rome’s Santa Croce University; Father Gianpaolo Montini, a professor emeritus of Canon Law at Rome’s Gregorian University; and Father Ulrich Rhode, S.J., also a professor of Canon Law at the Gregorian. Rhode is formerly of the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt-Georgen (St. George’s Philosophical and Theological College) in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, where a young Father Jorge Bergoglio studied briefly in 1986.

Cordileone was named archbishop of San Francisco exactly 14 years ago, July 27, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI. He recently reflected on the “growing lack of trust” between the traditionalist SSPX and the Vatican, and called for “easier access” to the Traditional Latin Mass.