In January, Francis made his highest-ranking female appointment, naming Sister Simona Brambilla prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Religious, which oversees nuns, monks and religious orders. The ...

Throughout his papacy, Francis took steps to appoint and integrate women into leadership roles in the Vatican.

When the secret process to select Pope Francis’s successor begins this week, only cardinals under 80 will get to cast votes for candidates who are male – but women still find ways to have influence, s ...

More significantly, he named two nuns to head two of the most important Vatican offices: Sister Simona Brambilla as head of the Vatican office responsible for all the world’s Catholic religious ...