Pope Francis on Saturday, July 14, appointed four cardinals as presidents delegate for the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,scheduled from October 3 to 28 in the Vatican, which has as its theme, “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.”

The presidents delegate are:

Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako of Babylon (Iraq)
Cardinal Désiré Tsarahazana, Archbishop of Toamasina (Madagascar)
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo SDB., Archbishop of Yangon (Myanmar)
Cardinal John Ribat MSC, Archbishop of Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)

The presidents-delegate take turns in presiding over the synod assemblies on behalf of the Pope. A president-delegate is responsible for guiding the work of the synod and assigning special tasks to certain members, when necessary, so that the assembly proceeds efficiently. He also signs the documents of the assembly. When there are several presidents-delegate, they all sign the final documents of the synod.