Pope appoints first woman to head important Vatican department

Pope Francis appoints Sister Simone Brambilla to head a Vatican department

She became the first woman to head the office that oversees the world's Catholic religious orders and congregations.

Francis, who is seeking to reform the governance of the Catholic Church, has appointed Sister Brambilla as prefect of the dicastery of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in a historic "first," a Vatican official told AFP on Tuesday.

Brambilla, 59, is a former nurse with missionary experience in Mozambique, previously serving as deputy dicastery.

Dicastery is the Vatican term for ministries or departments.

The Pope has gradually begun to appoint women to senior positions in the Holy See

Pope Francis, who in 2013 became the leader of the world's nearly 1.4 billion Catholics, has slowly begun to appoint women to senior positions at the Holy See. According to data published by Vatican News, the percentage of women working here and throughout the Vatican will rise from around 19% in 2013 to 23.4% in 2023.

Francis has also allowed lay people, including women, to lead dicasteries, a role previously reserved for cardinals and archbishops.

In October, the Vatican Assembly on the future of the Catholic Church said more should be done to help women overcome "obstacles" to leadership positions in the Church.

Based on ELTA reports