Pope Francis has asked an Italian lawyer to be the first woman to hold a management position in the Vatican's most important office, the Secretariat of State. Pope Francis has asked an Italian lawyer to be the first woman to hold a management position in the Vatican's most important office, the Secretariat of State. Francis on Wednesday named Francesca Di Giovanni, a 27-year veteran of the Vatican, as undersecretary for multilateral affairs. Francis has called for women to be given greater decision-making roles in the Vatican and the Catholic Church at large, though no women head a Vatican congregation or other important office. A few other women hold a similar rank in other Vatican offices, including the undersecretary at the Vatican's congregation for religious orders and two undersecretaries in the Vatican office for laity.

Source: Irish Independent January 15, 2020 12:33 UTC