In future, the head of government of the Vatican no longer has to be a cardinal, even according to the letter of the law.
By amending the constitution of the Vatican City State on Friday, Pope Leo XIV adapted the legal situation to current practice.
In January, Pope Francis (2013-2025) announced the religious Raffaella Petrini as head of the Vatican government and appointed her shortly afterwards without amending the basic law.
Since the Pope, as the sovereign of the Vatican City State, has full governmental authority, which consists of legislative, executive and judicial power, he himself is not bound by the Basic Law.
In the motu proprio that decrees the amendment of the Fundamental Law, Pope Leo speaks of a "consolidation" of solutions "that have been developed so far in response to the increasingly complex and urgent demands of governance ".
Francis' reform allowed lay members of the legislature for the first time
Previously, the basic law stipulated that the legislative body of the Vatican City State, the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City, was to consist of cardinals and other members and that the president was to be appointed from among the cardinals.
In the new wording, the relevant article is amended so that the President is appointed from among all the members of the Commission.
The President of the Commission is also the President of the Governorate, the executive branch of the Vatican City State.
The Vatican City State was established in 1929 on the basis of the Lateran Treaties.
Since then, its organisation has been defined by a constitution.
The last comprehensive reform was decreed by Pope Francis in 2023.
The head of state is the incumbent pope ex officio.
For the first time, the new Basic Law bindingly clarified the serving role of the Vatican State for the Holy See as a subject of international law.
The roles of the Holy See (with the Vatican Curia as an organ) and the Vatican State (with the "Governatorate" as the state government) were clearly separated and codified as they had been for decades.
The 2023 reform also made it possible for lay people to become members of the Commission for the first time.