Pope Francis names the first woman to head a major Vatican office

Pope Francis on Monday named the first woman to head a major Vatican office, appointing an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to become prefect of the department responsible for all the Catholic Church’s religious orders.

The appointment marks a major step in Francis’ aim to give women more leadership roles in governing the church. While women have been named to No. 2 spots in some Vatican offices, never before has a woman been named prefect of a dicastery or congregation of the Holy See Curia, the central governing organ of the Catholic Church.

The historic nature of Brambilla’s appointment was confirmed by Vatican Media, which headlined its report “Sister Simona Brambilla is the first woman prefect in the Vatican.”

In an indication of the novelty of the appointment, and the theological implications involved, Francis simultaneously named as a co-leader, or “pro-prefect,” a cardinal: Ángel Fernández Artime, a Salesian.

But the appointment, announced in the Vatican daily bulletin, lists Brambilla first as “prefect” and Fernández second as her co-leader, which theologically is necessary since the prefect must be able to celebrate Mass and perform other sacramental functions that currently can only be done by men.

The office, known officially as the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, is one of the most important in the Vatican. It is responsible for every religious order, from the Jesuits and Franciscans to smaller newer movements.

Brambilla, 59, is a member of the Consolata Missionaries religious order and had served as the No. 2 in the religious order department since last year.

She takes over from the retiring Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, 77.