Pope Francis appointed the first woman to head a major Vatican office on Monday, naming an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, prefect of the department responsible for all religious orders of the Catholic Church.
The appointment marks a major step in Francis’ efforts to give women more leadership roles in church governance. While women have been appointed to other positions in some Vatican offices, never before has a woman been appointed prefect of a dicastery or congregation of the Curia of the Holy See, the central governing body of the Catholic Church.
The historical significance of the appointment of Brambilla was confirmed by the Vatican media, which titled their reports as “Sister Simon Brambilla is the first female prefect in the Vatican”.
The office is one of the most important in the Vatican. Officially known as the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, it is responsible for every church order, from the Jesuits and Franciscans to smaller newer movements, reports Reuters.
