Rome – Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Robert Sarah as head of the Vatican’s worship congregation on February 20.
The release of the Vatican announcing the news gives no reason for Sarah’s departure or name that would replace him. In a tweet, the cardinal alluded to the fact that he turned 75 last year, the traditional retirement age for bishops.
Sarah, originally from Guinea, has served in various Vatican leadership roles since 2001, when Pope John Paul II made him the number two official of the Congregation for the Evangelism of Nations.
After Francis was made a cardinal in 2010, Francis nominated Sarah as prefect of the Vatican’s congregation for divine worship and the discipline of the sacraments in November 2014.
Sarah is known as an outspoken advocate of more traditional styles of Catholic liturgy. Earlier in Francis’ papacy, Sarah came under the spotlight when it became apparent that the cardinal had been waiting years to implement a papal mandate to change the church law so that women among those could have their feet washed at Holy Thursday worship services.
Although Francis sent a letter to Sarah in December 2014 asking him to implement the change, it was only announced in January 2016. There has never been an explanation for the delay time.
Francis also took the unusual step of making a public correction in 2017 in an article written by Sarah on how to translate Catholic liturgies from the original Latin into local languages.
Like the news release announcing Sarah’s departure, the February 20 article on the case at the official Vatican News store was extraordinarily short, with only two paragraphs summarizing the cardinal’s career.
Until Francis nominates Sarah’s replacement, the worship congregation will be led by Archbishop Arthur Roche, an English minister who has served as the second official since 2012.
Francis also accepts the resignation on February 20 of Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the Archbishop of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vicar General for the Vatican City. But the pope also announced the replacement for Comastri: Cardinal Mauro Gambetti.
Gambetti, an ordinary Franciscan, was until last year the head of the community in the Holy Monastery of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy. He was one of the 13 cardinals created by Francis during the pope’s latest consistory, which was held in November.