Sister Simona Brambilla holds a doctorate in psychology and has served as superior general of the Consolata Missionaries and as a missionary. She is also a professional nurse.

Women are still excluded from ordination as priests, and discussions about female ordination continue to create divisions within the Church.

Pope Francis has appointed the Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to head one of the Vatican's dicasteries, making her the first female prefect in the Catholic Church's history. The Vatican's press office reported on Monday that Brambilla has been selected to lead the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Rome: 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.

Sister Simona Brambilla has been named prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, marking the first time a woman has held such a role in the Roman Curia.

The appointment marks a major step in Pope Francis' aim to give women more leadership roles in governing the church.

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