Sister Simona Brambilla makes history as the first woman to lead a Vatican dicastery, marking a significant step towards greater female representation in the Catholic Church's governance.
The appointment on Monday marked a major step in Francis' aim to give women more leadership roles in governing the church. While women have been named to No.2 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'.Pope Francis waves during the Angelus noon prayer on the occasion of the Epiphany day from the window of his studio overlooking St Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Monday, January 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) The office is one of the most important in the Vatican. Known officially as the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, it is responsible for every religious order, from the Jesuits and Franciscans to smaller newer movements. 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: Ángel Fernández Artime, a Salesian. But the appointment, announced in the Vatican daily bulletin, lists Brambilla first as 'prefect' and Fernández 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. Brambilla, 59, is a member of the Consolata Missionaries religious order and had served as the No.2 in the religious orders department since last year. She takes over from the retiring Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, 77. Francis made Brambilla's appointment possible with his 2022 reform of the Holy See's founding constitution, which allowed laypeople, including women, to head a dicastery and become prefect
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