ROME — Pope Leo XIV made his first big Vatican appointment Friday, naming an Italian legal expert to replace him as head of the Holy See’s office that vets bishop nominations around the world.

Leo named Archbishop Filippo Iannone as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, had headed the important Vatican office for two years until his election as pope in May.

Iannone, 67, is currently the Holy See’s top legislator, as head of the Vatican’s legal office. His transfer, thus, creates another important position Leo will have to fill.

That could be part of the thinking behind the appointment: Leo, who is himself a canon lawyer, may have ideas of reforms for the church's legal system, and may want to put in place someone of his own choosing who can execu

See Full Page