Pope Names Woman Head of Dicastery for Consecrated Life

Vatican City: Pope Francis has appointed Sister Simona Brambilla, until now Secretary of the same institution, as Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the first woman to gain such high Vatican office, the Vatican Press Office said Monday.

According to Ansa News Agency, Monza-born Brambilla, 59, led the women’s branch of the Consolata Missionaries from 2011 to 2023 when she became the dicastery’s secretary. She is now the highest-ranking woman in the Roman Curia.