Pope appoints first female mayor of Vatican City

Pope Francis on Thursday appointed the first woman to head the Vatican Prefecture, Franciscan Sister Raffaella Petrini, in pursuit of her desire for greater gender equality in the Church.

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As the county general secretary, the 52-year-old Italian nun will be responsible for overseeing administrative operations, including the Vatican Museums, the post office and the police. Thus, she became the oldest woman in the smallest country in the world. According to the Internet newspaper National Catholic CorrespondentThis role is traditionally occupied by the bishop.

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Francis, 84, has said on several occasions that he wants women to play a greater role in the Catholic Church. In January, he amended the law to allow them to serve as liturgical readers, altar attendants, and cult distributors, without saying, however, that this change could one day open the door for women priests. In February, he appointed a woman procurator for the Synod of Bishops, the first woman to hold a voting position on a body that examines major doctrinal issues.

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In 2016, the Pope created a commission to study the history of women deacons during the early years of the Catholic Church, in a process that could have paved the way for women to take up that role today. reformers. But the findings of that commission fell short of expectations, and the Pope appointed another commission last year to look into the matter.

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