New archpriest of Santa Maria Maggiore (Vatican Press Office)

Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, succeeded Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko in the position on July 4, the latter’s 80th birthday.

The wording of the Vatican announcement was unusual. Rather than the customary statement to the effect that the Pope accepted Cardinal Ryłko’s resignation—as was the case in 2016, when his 81-year-old predecessor resigned—the Holy See Press Office instead said that “the Holy Father has thanked His Eminence Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko for his service as archpriest.”