In an historic first for the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has appointed Sister Simona Brambilla because the prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Her recent role makes her the primary woman to guide a Vatican dicastery, a choice hailed as a landmark moment for the Church’s governance and its approach to women’s roles inside its structures.
Sister Brambilla, an Italian nun with many years of experience in missionary work and leadership, has long been a distinguished figure within the Church. She had served as secretary of the identical dicastery since October 2023, where her work highlighted her ability to navigate complex pastoral and administrative responsibilities.
In December 2024, she was also appointed to the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod, a task connected to the worldwide synodal process initiated by Pope Francis.
Reflecting on her involvement, she remarked, “I deeply consider within the synodal journey. We have lived and reside an experience of the Spirit, which impels the Church to walk together, in mutual listening and mutual edification. From this experience, there isn’t any going back.”
Her journey to this historic role began many years earlier, when she joined the Consolata Missionaries in 1988 and later served as a missionary in Mozambique. There, she engaged with questions of evangelisation and cultural integration, experiences that informed her doctoral work in psychology on the Gregorian Institute of Psychology in Rome, where she also taught.
Her years as superior general of the Consolata Missionaries, from 2005 to 2018, further prepared her for the demands of Vatican leadership. She combined these global responsibilities with a concentrate on the sensible realities of religion, helped to a big extent by her skilled background as a nurse.
Sister Brambilla’s insights into the challenges of consecrated life reflect her years of service across diverse cultures and settings. Speaking in 2023 in regards to the renewal of consecrated life, she pointed to the transformative power of listening and collaboration.
“The encounter with others is a source of growth, of exchange of gifts, of grace,” she said.
She has repeatedly stressed the importance of humility in leadership, citing Pope Francis’ call to embrace the “hidden grace” of smallness, where the Church’s strength lies not in grandeur but in its dependence on God’s power.
Her vision for the Church is considered one of inclusion, dialogue, and shared responsibility. In early 2024, she reflected on Pope Francis’ teaching that the Church must recuperate its “feminine face”.Â
While Sister Brambilla’s appointment doesn’t alter the Church’s stance on the ministerial priesthood, it does offer recognition of a female contribution to its leadership and pastoral mission. When asked whether her recent role might result in a “demasculinisation” of the Church, she dismissed the concept as simplistic, emphasising as a substitute the necessity for a more balanced understanding of the interplay between the masculine and female dimensions of the Church.
“This reflection should be expanded by everyone and translated into practice,” she said. “It requires a careful study of the female dimension of the Church and of the mission within the broadest sense.”
Her leadership has already attracted attention for its clarity and openness, particularly in addressing sensitive matters. As secretary of the dicastery, she oversaw investigations corresponding to the apostolic visitation of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter and the closure of a Carmelite monastery in Texas. Her ability to supply pastoral care with administrative rigour has earned her the trust of her peers and the broader Church.
Although Brambilla’s appointment doesn’t carry sacramental authority, her appointment is a component of Pope Francis’ broader effort to make sure greater participation by women within the lifetime of the Church. It reflects his belief that the Church must draw on the complete range of human gifts whether it is to satisfy the challenges of the fashionable world.
