Another nun at the top: Pope names Sr. Tiziana Merletti for key Vatican post

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sister Tiziana Merletti, former Superior General of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, as Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

The Dicastery is responsible for orders and religious congregations, as well as secular institutes.

As Secretary, Sr Merletti will serve under Sr Simona Brambilla, who was appointed to lead the Dicastery in January—becoming the first woman ever to lead a Vatican department.

From 2023 to 2025, Sr Brambilla had served as Secretary of the Dicastery, the role now held by Sr. Merletti.

The Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life is Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime.

Sister Tiziana Merletti was born on September 30, 1959, in Pineto, central Italy. In 1986, she made her first religious profession in the Institute of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor. She earned a degree in Law in 1984, and in 1992 obtained a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

From 2004 to 2013, she served as Superior General of her religious Institute. She is currently a Professor at the Faculty of Canon Law at the Pontifical Antonianum University in Rome and works as a canon lawyer with the International Union of Superiors General.

Sr Merletti is the third woman to hold the position of Secretary within a dicastery of the Roman Curia, following Sister Alessandra Smerilli at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and her predecessor Sister Simona Brambilla.

With Pope Francis’ Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, laypeople, including women, can now lead dicasteries and become prefects, a role that had previously been reserved for cardinals and archbishops.

During Pope Francis’ pontificate, the percentage of women working in the Holy See and the Vatican City State rose from about 19.2% to 23.4%.