Shafaqna English- Pope Francis named the first woman to head prefect of Vatican office.
Pope Francis on Monday (06 Jan 2025) appointed an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to become 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. 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.”
The office is one of the most important in the Vatican. Known officially as the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, it is responsible for every religious order, from the Jesuits and Franciscans to the Mercy nuns and smaller, newer movements.
Brambilla, a nurse, worked as a missionary in Mozambique and led her Consolata order as superior from 2011-2023 when Francis made her secretary of the religious orders department.
One major challenge she will face is the plummeting number of nuns worldwide. It has fallen by around 10,000 a year for the past several years, from around 750,000 in 2010 to 600,000 last year, according to Vatican statistics.
Source: Los Angeles Times