Two documents dated July and August 2026 provide insight into the governance structure established for the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) under the authority of the pontifical delegate, Monsignor Jos\u00e9 Antonio Satu\u00e9 Huerto.<\/p>\n\n
The first is a decree signed in Malaga on July 25, 2026. The second, dated August 18, presents the biographies and responsibilities of the members of the new team. <\/p>\n\n
It is not about the ratification of a government elected by the members of the IVE. The new structure was born of the pontifical mandate entrusted to Archbishop Satu\u00e9 and of the appointments made by him with the agreement of the competent Dicastery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decree recalls that Monsignor Jos\u00e9 Antonio Satu\u00e9 was appointed pontifical delegate of the Institute by a decree of December 8, 2024, specifically approved by Pope Francis.<\/p>\n\n
His mandate confers on him all the powers of government of the IVE, in accordance with the universal law of the Church and the constitutions of the Institute. The pontifical delegate does not act, therefore, as a simple mediator or external advisor. He exercises the authority of government entrusted to him by the Holy See. <\/p>\n\n
The decree also states that the delegate is empowered to choose collaborators of his trust, with the obligation to inform the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life of their appointments.<\/p>\n\n
In May 2026, Monsignor Satu\u00e9 informed the Dicastery of his intention to confirm the collaborators who had accompanied him during the first period of his mandate and to distribute among them the different responsibilities of government. On July 14, the Dicastery replied that it had no objection to the appointments. <\/p>\n\n
The decree designates five collaborators:<\/p>\n\n
The document also confirms the continuity of Fr. Antonio Munduate, CP, and Mr. Francisco Garc\u00eda Villalobos, who will continue to collaborate with the pontifical delegate in the functions proper to the General Secretariat of the Institute.<\/p>\n\n
All collaborators will exercise their functions under the authority of the pontifical delegate and within the limits established by the Holy See and by the competent Dicastery.<\/p>\n\n
The biographical document published on August 18 allows a clearer observation of the composition of the new team.<\/p>\n\n
Among the collaborators, only two belong to the Institute of the Incarnate Word: Fathers Ervens Mengelle and Diogenes Urquiza. The others come from other religious institutions or are lay. <\/p>\n\n
The equipment includes:<\/p>\n\n
If we include the pontifical delegate himself, six of the eight people who make up this structure come from outside the IVE.<\/p>\n\n
This data shows that we are not dealing with a simple reorganization of the ordinary government of the Institute. The structure established by the Holy See has a broadly external composition, with people selected for their expertise in religious government, economics, formation, canon law, administration, and secretariat. <\/p>\n\n
The distribution of responsibilities allows us to identify the central areas of the new system of government.<\/p>\n\n
Father Ervens Mengelle assumed the vicariate general, while Giampietro Pettenon was in charge of the economy. Paolo Crivelli is responsible for the training and Giampiero Gambaro is responsible for the prosecutor’s office, which includes legal, institutional and representation issues. <\/p>\n\n
Di\u00f3genes Urquiza is in charge of the area of monasteries. The General Secretariat, for its part, continues under the collaboration of Father Antonio Munduate and Mr. Francisco Garc\u00eda Villalobos. <\/p>\n\n
Overall, the structure covers the main areas of operation of the Institute: government, economy, formation, law, monasteries, documentation and administration.<\/p>\n\n
The decree leaves no room for doubt about the established hierarchy. The collaborators do not receive an independent authority, but act under the authority of the pontifical delegate. <\/p>\n\n
The new leadership of the IVE is therefore organized around a single authority, dependent on the Holy See. The pontifical delegate concentrates the power of government and distributes the various functions among collaborators who are accountable to him and to the dispositions of the Dicastery. <\/p>\n\n
The entry into force of the decree took place from the moment it was sent to the institutional directorates of the provincial superiors of the Institute. The document was signed in Malaga on July 25, 2026 by Monsignor Jos\u00e9 Antonio Satu\u00e9 and by Francisco Garc\u00eda Villalobos, assistant to the pontifical delegate. <\/p>\n\n
The two documents present in detail the appointments, career paths and administrative responsibilities of the new team.<\/p>\n\n
However, they do not provide specific information on the complaints that have affected the IVE, the investigations, the institutional responsibilities, the care of victims, the protection of whistleblowers or the publication of results.<\/p>\n\n
The absence of these issues does not demonstrate that there are no internal measures. But it does allow us to verify that the official communication focuses on the reorganization of the Institute’s governance and not on publicly explaining how the abuses and their consequences will be addressed. <\/p>\n\n
The decree of July 25 and the biographical document of August 18 show that the Institute of the Incarnate Word continues under a structure of pontifical tutelage.<\/p>\n\n
The new government does not come from an internal election of the IVE. It was established by the pontifical delegate, with the consent of the Holy See, and is composed mostly of people from outside the Institute. <\/p>\n\n
The critical question will be whether this structure will produce true transparency, accountability, and justice for those who have reported abuses within the IVE environment.<\/p>\n\n
Sources:<\/strong> Prot. Decree No. IVE-037\/2026, signed in Malaga on 25 July 2026; document “General Government IVE”, dated in Malaga on August 18, 2026.<\/p>\n