León XIV has appointed Spanish cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, a Salesian and current pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as applied judge of the Court of Cassation of the State of Vatican City. The appointment, effective from October 13, 2025, was announced on this October 24 through the Bulletin of the Holy See.
The Court of Cassation is the highest judicial body of the Vatican State, and is composed of cardinals and lay judges of high legal competence. Among its functions are the review of sentences and the guarantee of the correct application of the law within the Vatican’s own legal system.
The position of “giudice applicato” —applied or adjunct judge— involves collaborating in specific cases, strengthening the judicial structure when the Pope deems it necessary or convenient.
A cardinal with extensive experience in education and governance
Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, born in Gozón (Asturias, Spain) in 1960, belongs to the Society of St. Francis de Sales (Salesians of Don Bosco). He was rector major of the congregation from 2014 to 2023, when the Pope called him to Rome as pro-prefect of the Dicastery in charge of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life, succeeding Cardinal João Braz de Aviz.
With a doctorate in pedagogy and a long career in the formation of young people and religious, Fernández Artime was created a cardinal in the consistory of September 30, 2023, by Francis, with the presbyteral title of Santa María Auxiliadora in Via Tuscolana.