Sister Simona Brambilla was appointed as the prefect of a Vatican office that oversees religious orders, but she may not be alone at the top.

Pope Francis on Monday named the first woman to head a major Vatican office, appointing an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to become prefect of the department responsible for all the Catholic Church's religious orders.

Pope Francis on Monday named the first woman to lead a major Vatican department, appointing an Italian sister to take charge of the office that oversees the world's Catholic religious orders.

Sister Brambilla, who trained as a nurse before entering religious life, was a missionary in Mozambique in the late 1990s.

In a groundbreaking decision, Pope Francis has appointed the Italian missionary nun, Simona Brambilla, M.C., as prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

The move marks a major step in Pope Francis’ aim to give women more leadership roles in the church, while standing firm on not allowing them to be ordained as priests. View on euronews

Pope Francis on Monday named the first woman to head a major Vatican office, appointing an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to become prefect of the department responsible for all of the Catholic Church's religious orders.

While women have been in secondary positions in the church, no woman has held the role of a prefect. The office now headed by Brambilla is one of the most important in the Vatican.