Vatican 2014-09-15 -- The sixth meeting of the Council of Cardinals with Pope Francis began on Monday morning at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

The Cardinals and the Pope are scheduled to continue their meeting until September 17.

The Council of Cardinals was instituted by Pope Francis to assist in the governance of the universal Church and to draw up a plan for the revision of the apostolic constitution “Pastor bonus” on the Roman Curia.

The Council – also known as the “Council of Nine” - has recently been enlarged to include Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin.

Previous meetings took place from October 1-3, December 3-5, 2013, and February 28-30, April 1-4 and July 1-4 of this past year.