Pope Leo XIV appoints Sister Smerilli as prefect

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sister Alessandra Smerilli to lead the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, marking the first time he has named a woman to a top leadership role in the Vatican’s central administration. The appointments of Smerilli as prefect and Cardinal Fabio Baggio as a new proprefect were announced on June 30 and will take effect on September 1.

Smerilli, a 51-year-old Italian Salesian Sister and trained economist, succeeds Cardinal Michael Czerny, who is retiring as he turns 80 in July. She has served as the dicastery’s secretary, the second-in-command position, since 2021. The office she will lead oversees the Church’s work on migration, ecology, and human development, having been formed under Pope Francis by merging several former pontifical councils.

In a structural change, Cardinal Fabio Baggio was appointed as proprefect, a role described as heading a distinct, autonomous section within the dicastery rather than serving as a deputy. He will have autonomous responsibility for the Laudato Si’ Higher Education Centre, an institution focused on ecological training and sustainability established by Pope Francis in 2023. A Scalabrinian missionary and...