Pope Francis has appointed the first woman in Vatican history as prefect of the department responsible for all religious orders of the Catholic Church.
She is an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla.
Her appointment marks an important step in giving more leadership roles to women.
Never before has a woman been appointed prefect of a dicastery or congregation of the Holy See Curia, which is the central governing body of the Catholic Church.
Brambilla, 59, is a member of the Consolata Missionaries religious order and has served as No. 2 in the department of religious orders since last year. She takes over from retired Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, 77.
Francis made Brambilla's appointment possible with his 2022 reform of the Holy See's founding constitution, which allowed laypeople, including women, to head a dicastery and become prefects.
Brambilla, a nurse, worked as a missionary in Mozambique and led her Consolata order as superior from 2011-2023, when Pope Francis made her secretary of the department of religious orders.
