For the first time, a woman became the head of the Vatican City State Administration, known as the executive institution of the papal state, with the appointment of Franciscan nun Raffaella Petrini as secretary general, the Holy See announced on Thursday.
The position of General Secretary of the Government is the highest position held by a woman in the history of the Papal States. It is the second highest position in the office after the President of the Government.
Fifty-two-year-old Raffaella Petrini has a degree in political science, is a professor of economics and sociology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, and has worked as one of the heads of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Vatican since 2005.
Founded in 1939, officially known as the Government Office of Vatican City , the building of the Government Office is located on the territory of the Papal States. It is considered an executive power body and has specific powers independent of the Holy See. He directs several offices, including the technical, management, personnel, health, security and tourism affairs of the Papal State. It also includes the Vatican Museum and the Papal Police. The leading positions of the Government are held by churchmen, middle managers and employees are usually secular.
The president of the institution is the Spanish Archbishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, former secretary general, who was promoted by Pope Francis in September.
Source: MTI
