Pope Francis Names First Woman To Head A Major Vatican Office

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has named the first woman to head a major Vatican office.

He is appointing Sister Simona Brambilla, an Italian nun, to become prefect of the Vatican department responsible for all the church’s religious orders.

The appointment marks a major step in Francis’ aim to give women more leadership roles in governing the Catholic 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.