Pope Francis on Monday appointed Sister Simona Brambilla to head the Vatican office responsible for religious orders for men and women – which includes more than a quarter of the world's priests – making her the first woman to reach the No. 1 in the office of the Holy See.
The decision shows Francis' clear intention to give women leadership roles in the Roman Catholic Church. He named several women to senior positions, including the director of the Vatican museums. Sister Brambilla is the first head of the department of the Roman Curia, as church leaders are known.
“This is very good news,” said Anne-Marie Pelletier, a theologian who has written a book on women and the church. “It's completely new,” and it shows what can be done in the church. “For me it's a really important moment.”
But alongside Sister Brambilla, Francis named Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime as pro-prefect, or co-leader, of the department. It was not immediately clear how the two would share duties, and some critics saw the appointment as diminishing Sister Brambilla's effective role.
“The appointment of a woman as a manager would be good news, if it were not because she was nominated by someone, it is like appointing a guardian who will be able to control her,” said Lucetta Scaraffia, a historian and ecclesiologist. , who said in this context, the appointment was “window dressing.”
Sister Brambilla will lead the department – whose official title is the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life – which promotes and directs religious instruction for men and women, although the majority are women. According to Vatican statistics published last year, about 128,500 priests – more than 25 percent of the world's total – were followers like Jesuits or Franciscans as of 2022, and less than 50,000 brothers. The number of women in religious positions reached 599,228 in 2022. The department also oversees many student organizations.
Before 2019, all members of the Vatican ministry were men, but both religious sisters and some bishops have been complaining about the lack of women in decision-making positions in an office whose jobs can directly affect their lives. In 2019, Francis appointed seven women as members of the department. In 2022, he issued a new constitution reforming the Roman Curia that made ordinary people, including women, officials. In 2023, Sister Brambilla was elected secretary of the department. He takes over from Brazilian Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, 77, who was appointed in 2011.
Sister Brambilla, 59, was born in Monza, near Milan. She was a trained nurse before becoming a Consolata Missionary, and has a doctorate in psychology. He led his religious program as superior from 2011 to 2023.
Critics accuse Francis of dragging his heels when appointing women to high decision-making positions in the church, but he has done more than his predecessors. Just 10 years ago, only two women held senior positions in the Curia. Now there are about a dozen. According to Vatican News, from 2013 to 2023, the percentage of women working in the Vatican increased to 23.4 percent from 19.2 percent.
For the first time, two years ago, Francis allowed women to vote in a meeting of bishops who wanted to determine the future of the church. Although the role of women in the church is one of the most discussed topics at this meeting that ended in October, the question of whether women can be ordained as deacons remains open.
“It's definitely a positive change in the Vatican,” Kate McElwee, executive director of the Conference on the Ordination of Women, said of Sister Brambilla's appointment. However, he was also confused about the role of the pro-prefect. “It just proves that there are still hurdles to work through and hoops for women to jump through to take these positions in the Vatican,” she said.
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