Rome (AP) – Pope Francis has appointed the first woman to head a major Vatican office, naming Italian nun Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the department responsible for all the Catholic Church’s religious orders. The appointment marks a major step in Francis’ aim to give women more leadership roles in governing the church.
Brambilla, 59, is a member of the Consolata Missionaries religious order and has served as the No. 2 in the religious orders department since last year. She takes over from retiring Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, 77.
The appointment is a historic moment, with Brambilla becoming the first woman to head a dicastery or congregation of the Holy See Curia, the central governing organ of the Catholic Church. The office is one of the most important in the Vatican, responsible for every religious order, from the Jesuits and Franciscans to smaller newer movements.
The appointment also includes a co-leader, or “pro-prefect,” Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, a Salesian. The theological implications are significant, as the prefect must be able to celebrate Mass and perform other sacramental functions that can only be done by men.
Brambilla’s appointment is the latest move by Francis to show by example how women can take leadership roles within the Catholic hierarchy, without allowing them to be ordained as priests. Women have long complained of second-class status in an institution that reserves the priesthood for men.
The percentage of women working in the Vatican has increased during Francis’ papacy, from 19.3% in 2013 to 23.4% today, with 26% in the Curia alone. Other women holding leadership positions include Sister Raffaella Petrini, the first-ever female secretary general of the Vatican City State, and Sister Alessandra Smerilli, the No. 2 in the Vatican development office.
