23:14 7 November 2021
Vatican City State will be governed by a woman
Pope Francis appointed 52-year-old Sister Raffaella Petrini FSE as Secretary-General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State. She will be the highest-ranking woman in the Vatican administration. Her nomination is read as an element of the papal policy of increasing the role of women in the Roman Catholic Church.
The governorate replaces the pope in the administration of the Vatican City State. Her competencies include overseeing the daily activities of the Vatican, e.g. the functioning of the police, fire brigades, health services, and museums.
Sister Raffaella Petrini, whose new position can be vividly described as the Vatican's mayor or governor, will now have more than 2,000 employees. The nomination of a woman is unusual in that this function was traditionally assigned to bishops. Petrini will be the first woman ever to serve as Secretary-General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, but not the first in the Governorate itself. Until now, the nun was the head of the Governorate's Legal Office.
Pope Francis has repeatedly said that women must play a more important role in the Catholic Church than before. In August, he nominated another Italian nun, Sr. Alessandra Smerilli FMA, the holder of a double doctorate in economics, as interim secretary of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development.
