In a move signaling the Vatican’s evolving approach to leadership, Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sister Tiziana Merletti as the new Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, a department that oversees religious orders, congregations, and secular institutes across the global Catholic Church. The appointment was officially announced on May 22 by the Vatican Press Office.
Sr. Merletti, a canon lawyer and former Superior General of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, succeeds Sister Simona Brambilla, who now serves as Prefect of the Dicastery. This transition marks a rare continuity of female leadership at the uppermost levels of the Roman Curia.
Born in Pineto, Italy, in 1959, Sr. Merletti holds degrees in both civil law and canon law, having completed her doctoral studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in 1992. She made her first religious profession in 1986 and went on to lead her congregation from 2004 to 2013. At the time of her Vatican appointment, she was a professor of canon law at the Pontifical Antonianum University in Rome and a legal advisor with the International Union of Superiors General (UISG).
While not the first woman to hold a secretary position within a dicastery, the appointment of Sr. Merletti is significant because she will serve directly under another woman—Sr. Brambilla—forming a unique leadership structure in the traditionally male-dominated Vatican governance. This leadership team operates under the oversight of Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, currently serving as Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery.
The UISG welcomed the news, stating that Sr. Merletti’s contributions “are a gift to our global network,” highlighting her involvement in efforts promoting integrity and accountability in consecrated life.
Her appointment comes under the broader reforms introduced by Pope Francis through the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, which opened the way for laypeople and women to lead Vatican departments, roles previously restricted to bishops and cardinals. Under his papacy, the proportion of women employed at the Vatican has reportedly risen from 19.2% to 23.4%.
While Sr. Merletti’s new position may seem administrative in nature, it points to deeper structural changes within the Church, reflecting an ongoing shift in how leadership roles are conceptualized and distributed.
