Pope Francis met with Cardinal Luis Ladaria on Tuesday morning to thank him for his six years as head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The pope visited the dicastery shortly after 9 am on Sept 5, the Vatican said in a brief statement. Francis also greeted other dicastery officials after meeting with the 79-year-old Ladaria.
On July 1, Pope Francis appointed Argentine Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, 61, as Ladaria’s successor as doctrine chief.
Ladaria was appointed prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, then called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in 2017. He succeeded German Cardinal Gerhard Müller.