Pope appoints Vatican's first female prefect

Sister Simona Brambilla

Source: Vatican Media, X

Pope Francis has today appointed Sister Simona Brambilla, an Italian-born religious sister from the Consolata Missionaries, as Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, along with Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime as Pro-Prefect. Sr Simona, who turns 60 on March 27, previously served as Superior General of the Consolata Missionaries. She has served as Secretary of the same Dicastery since October 7, 2023. In this new role she will be the first woman Prefect of a Dicastery of the Holy See.

Sr Simona Brambilla has a background that includes missionary experience in Mozambique. She was a professional nurse before joining the Consolata Missionary Sisters Institute, which she led from 2011 to 2023.

On July 8, 2019, the Pope for the first time appointed seven women as members of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Later, Sr Brambilla was first chosen as Secretary of the Dicastery and now as Prefect.

Since the beginning of Pope Francis's pontificate, the presence of women in the Vatican has increased. According to overall data covering both the Holy See and Vatican City State from 2013 to 2023, the percentage of women has risen from 19.2% to 23.4%.

A pathway outlined by the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium of 2022, the Pope has made it possible for laypeople, including women, to lead a Dicastery and become Prefect, a role previously reserved for Cardinals and Archbishops.

In Vatican City State, Pope Francis has appointed two women to leadership positions during his pontificate. In 2016, he named Barbara Jatta as Director of the Vatican Museums, which has traditionally been led by laypeople. In 2022, he named Sister Raffaella Petrini as Secretary General of the Governorate, a role usually held by a bishop.

There are also several female Undersecretaries, such as Gabriella Gambino and Lina Ghisoni at the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, while Sister Carmen Ros Nortes of the Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation serves as Undersecretary at the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Emilce Cuda is Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; Nataša Govekar heads the theological-pastoral department of the Dicastery for Communication (our parent organization); Cristiane Murray is Deputy Director of the Holy See Press Office; and Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchof is Deputy Coordinator of the Council for the Economy. The General Secretariat of the Synod also has a female Undersecretary, French-born Sister Nathalie Becquart.

On December 13, 2024, the Pope appointed Sister Simona Brambilla and María Lía Zervino, former president of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations (WUCWO), as members of the 16th Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat. María Lía Zervino had already been appointed as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2022.

Fr James Martin SJ commented: "In appointing Consolata Sister Simona Brambilla as the first woman prefect of a Vatican Dicastery (the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life) Pope Francis has just made history."