Papal appointments to human development dicastery
Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, appointed 12 new consultors to the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, as reported by Angelus News and the Daily Monitor. The dicastery, established by Pope Francis in 2016, focuses on the Church's efforts in the areas of peace, migration, health, and ecology. Consultors are called to periodically meet with dicastery members to provide expert advice, according to both outlets.
The appointments come after Pope Leo renewed the dicastery's leadership at the end of June, appointing Italian economist Sister Alessandra Smerilli as prefect, succeeding Cardinal Michael Czerny. Cardinal Fabio Baggio, who had been undersecretary since 2022, was named pro-prefect, and Father Jozef Barlaš was promoted from undersecretary to secretary. Their roles begin on September 1, as reported by Angelus News.
Notable appointees
Among the new consultors is Father Emmanuel Katongole, a priest from the Archdiocese of Kampala, Uganda, and a professor of theology and peace studies at the University of Notre Dame, according to Angelus News. The Daily Monitor also highlighted Katongole's appointment, noting his joint appointment at Notre Dame's Keough School and Kroc Institute. Before joining Notre Dame, Katongole served as associate professor of theology and world Christianity at Duke University and as a founding co-director of the Duke Center for Reconciliation, according to his biography as cited by Angelus News. He is also founder and president of Bethany Land Institute, an education center in Rwanda inspired by Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'. The Daily Monitor added details about Katongole's work with Bethany Land Institute, including environmental programs, rehabilitation of a forest at Nandere Hill, and the creation of Lazarus Forest, a 245-acre project. Katongole was ordained a priest in 1987 and has published works including 'Who are my people' (2022) and 'Born from Lament' (2017), as reported by the Daily Monitor.
Clemens Sedmak, a professor of social ethics and director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at Notre Dame, is also among the new consultors, according to Angelus News. A native of Austria, Sedmak previously served as the FD Maurice Professor for Moral Theology and Social Theology at King's College London and has been on the faculty of the University of Salzburg.
The full list of other appointees, as released by the Vatican on August 18, 2026, and reported by both outlets, includes: Kathryn A. Koch, president and CEO of Trust Company of the West in Los Angeles; Monsignor Peter Klasvogt, rector of the Pontifical College of Santa Maria in Camposanto in Rome; Father Francesco Coluccia, director of the office of healthcare ministry of the Archdiocese of Otranto, Italy; Father Joseph Jeyaraj Swaminathan, associate professor at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome; Omer S. Combary, professor of economics at Thomas Sankara University in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Lucy Afandi Esipila, regional executive secretary of Caritas Africa; Paolo Foglizzo, editor of Aggiornamenti Sociali - San Fedele Cultural Foundation in Milan, Italy; Peter G. Kirchschläger, director of the Institute of Social Ethics at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland; Jacqueline Remond, adjunct lecturer at the Australian Catholic University in Sydney; and Caren Rodrigues, associate professor at St. Joseph Institute of Management in Bangalore, India.
Leadership context
The dicastery, created by Pope Francis in 2016, is tasked with promoting the Church's work in peace, migration, health, and ecology. The recent appointments of consultors, who serve as expert advisers, are part of a broader renewal of the dicastery's leadership under Pope Leo XIV, which began with the June appointments of Smerilli, Baggio, and Barlaš. The new consultors' roles are expected to begin alongside the new leadership on September 1, as per the reports.