On January 6, Pope Francis named Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, marking the first time in history that a woman has been appointed to lead a Vatican dicastery.
The announcement places Brambilla at the helm of an office overseeing the governance of Catholic religious orders worldwide.
Brambilla, 59, previously served as the secretary of the same dicastery and led the Consolata Missionary Sisters from 2011 to 2023. A former nurse, she also holds a doctorate in psychology from Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University and worked as a missionary in Mozambique.
The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life oversees nearly 3/4 of a million consecrated men and women globally. It is tasked with approving religious constitutions, managing clerical disciplinary issues, and approving the establishment of new religious orders.
Several women already serve in certain positions within the Vatican, including the secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and secretary general of Vatican City State.
This decision follows reforms made in 2022 under Praedicate Evangelium, which allowed laypeople, including women, to head Vatican dicasteries. Previously, these roles were reserved for clergy.
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