Pope names first woman as head of major Vatican office
6 January 2025, 12:54
Sister Simona Brambilla has been named prefect of the department responsible for all of the Catholic Church’s religious orders.
Pope Francis has named the first woman to head a major Vatican office, appointing an Italian nun as prefect of the department responsible for all of the Catholic Church’s religious orders.
The appointment of Sister Simona Brambilla marks a major step in Francis’ aim to give women more leadership roles in governing the church.
While women have been named to number two spots in some Vatican offices, never before has a woman been named prefect of a dicastery or congregation of the Holy See Curia, the central governing organ of the Catholic Church.
The historic nature of Brambilla’s appointment was confirmed by Vatican Media, which headlined its report: “Sister Simona Brambilla is the first woman prefect in the Vatican”.
In an indication of the novelty of the appointment, and the theological implications involved, Francis simultaneously named as a co-leader, or “pro-prefect”, a cardinal: Angel Fernandez Artime, a Salesian.
But the appointment, announced in the Vatican daily bulletin, lists Sister Brambilla first as “prefect” and Cardinal Fernandez second as her co-leader, which theologically is necessary since the prefect must be able to celebrate Mass and perform other sacramental functions that currently can only be done by men.
The office, known officially as the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, is one of the most important in the Vatican. It is responsible for every religious order, from the Jesuits and Franciscans to smaller newer movements.
Sister Brambilla, 59, is a member of the Consolata Missionaries religious order and had served as the second in command in the religious order department since last year.
She takes over from the retiring Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, 77.
