{"slug": "pope-leo-promotes-nun-to-migrant-role-in-his-first-major-appointment-of-woman-to", "title": "Pope Leo promotes nun to migrant role in his first major appointment of woman to Holy See", "summary": "Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday promoted Italian Sister Alessandra Smerilli to head the Vatican office for migrants, environment and development, marking his first major appointment of a woman to the Holy See hierarchy. Smerilli, an economist and current No. 2 in the dicastery, replaces retiring Cardinal Michael Czerny. The pope also named Cardinal Fabio Baggio as pro-prefect, recognizing that the role sometimes requires an ordained priest.", "body_md": "# Pope Leo promotes nun to migrant role in his first major appointment of woman to Holy See\n\nBy\n\nAssociated Press\n\nPublished\nJune 30, 2026, 10:02 a.m. ET\n\nSee more of our coverage in your search results.\n\n[Add The New York Post on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=nypost.com)\n\nROME — [Pope Leo XIV](https://nypost.com/2026/06/20/world-news/top-banker-tried-to-sell-pope-leo-xiv-on-rare-earth-mining/) on Tuesday made his first major appointment of a woman to the Holy See hierarchy, promoting Italian Sister Alessandra Smerilli to head the [Vatican](https://nypost.com/2026/05/22/business/vatican-taps-atheist-anthropic-cofounder-to-speak-at-ai-event-as-tensions-with-trump-white-house-rise/) office responsible for [migrants](https://nypost.com/2026/06/09/opinion/pope-leos-naive-migrant-message-is-dangerously-political/), the environment and development.\n\nSmerilli, an economist, is currently the No. 2 in the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.\n\nAs prefect, she replaces the retiring Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, who turns 80 this month.\n\nWith the appointment of Smerilli, Leo appears to be following suit of his predecessor, [Pope Francis](https://nypost.com/2025/04/26/opinion/how-pope-francis-fought-the-church-and-lost/), who made a point of [promoting women](https://nypost.com/2026/06/02/world-news/pope-leo-names-catholic-media-executive-as-first-woman-to-lead-vatican-communications/) to top-level management positions within the Holy See as part of his response to calls by women for greater decision-making roles in the church.\n\nBut Leo too is following Francis’ lead by simultaneously naming Cardinal Fabio Baggio as a “pro-prefect” of the office, where he is currently undersecretary.\n\nThe dual nominations recognize that sometimes the role of a [Vatican](https://nypost.com/2026/05/13/us-news/vatican-warns-rebel-catholic-group-it-risks-excommunication/) department head requires being an ordained priest and cardinal.\n\nBaggio was also given the mandate to head up the Vatican’s Borgo Laudato Si environmental educational center, at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome.\n\n[The Catholic Church](https://nypost.com/2025/08/04/opinion/my-awakening-how-gen-zs-relationship-with-religion-is-changing/) reserves the priesthood for men, and women have long complained of a second-class status despite carrying out the lion’s share of the church’s work running schools, hospitals and passing the faith onto younger generations.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/pope-leo-promotes-nun-to-migrant-role-in-his-first-major-appointment-of-woman-to", "canonical_source": "https://nypost.com/2026/06/30/world-news/pope-leo-promotes-nun-to-top-migrant-role-in-his-first-major-appointment-of-a-woman-to-holy-see/", "published_at": "2026-06-30 14:02:27+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-30 14:27:33.017410+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Pope Leo XIV", "Sister Alessandra Smerilli", "Vatican", "Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development", "Cardinal Michael Czerny", "Pope Francis", "Cardinal Fabio Baggio", "Borgo Laudato Si"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/pope-leo-promotes-nun-to-migrant-role-in-his-first-major-appointment-of-woman-to", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/pope-leo-promotes-nun-to-migrant-role-in-his-first-major-appointment-of-woman-to.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/pope-leo-promotes-nun-to-migrant-role-in-his-first-major-appointment-of-woman-to.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/pope-leo-promotes-nun-to-migrant-role-in-his-first-major-appointment-of-woman-to.jsonld"}}