Salesian Sister Smerilli Appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development
(ANS – Vatican – June 30, 2026) – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sister Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, the new prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DSSUI). Previously secretary of the same curial body, the Salesian sister takes on the post previously held by Cardinal Michael Czerny, who will turn 80 on July 18.
Pope Leo had said in the only interview he has given during
the first year of his pontificate, with journalist Elise Allen, that he wished
to “follow in the footsteps of Francis by appointing women to certain
leadership roles at various levels within the life of the Church.” The Holy
Father has reaffirmed this approach by appointing another woman to head a
dicastery of the Roman Curia.
Third Female Prefect in the Roman Curia
This is Leo’s 2d appointment of a woman to a top-level role,
following that of the prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, the young
laywoman Montse Alvarado. Sr. Smerilli is the third female prefect in the Curia,
however, following the appointment by Pope Francis of Sr. Simona Brambilla, who
has been head of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life, since
January 6, 2025. At the time, Francis accompanied this appointment with that of
Cardinal Angel Fernández Artime, SDB, as pro-prefect of the Dicastery.
The same is now happening with Cardinal Fabio Baggio who –
again according to today’s bulletin from the Holy See Press Office – is moving
from the role of undersecretary for Integral Human Development to that of
pro-prefect of the Dicastery, with special responsibility for the Laudato si’
Center for Higher Education. Baggio will therefore work alongside Prefect
Smerilli. Both will take up their posts on September 1.
Work at the Vatican
An economist, academic, and lecturer at the Auxilium in
Milan, committed to issues of social justice, the civil economy, and inclusion,
Sr. Smerilli – born in Vasto, a graduate of Roma Tre University, and holder of
a PhD in Economics from the United Kingdom – has been a Salesian sister
(Daughter of Mary Help of Christians) since 1997 and has from the outset held
positions of great importance within the Vatican’s extensive organizational
structure. This began in 2019, when she was appointed councilor of the Vatican
City State, and continued in 2020 when she was called upon to coordinate the
economics section of the Vatican’s Covid-19 Task Force – the body established
by the Pope to respond promptly and comprehensively to the health and
socio-economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The commission was
established and operated within the DSSUI, where Sr. Alessandra became
undersecretary for the Faith and Development sector in 2021 and, a few months
later, ad interim secretary; finally, in 2022, she was
definitively appointed “secretary” (and not “female secretary,” as she has
always been keen to point out).
The Dicastery’s massive undertaking
Over recent years, the nun has worked alongside Card. Czerny
on the massive undertaking carried out by the dicastery, which in 2017 saw the
merger of the Pontifical Councils Iustitia et Pax, Cor Unum, the Pastoral Care
of Migrants and Itinerant People, and the Pastoral Care of Health Workers,
brought together with the sole aim of promoting the human person and the
dignity of all. A sort of Ministry of Social Policies, therefore, with responsibilities
in social, humanitarian, health, and environmental matters. Indeed, numerous
projects have been implemented across the six continents under what is most
commonly referred to as “Integral Development,” organized internally into 3
sections based on areas of expertise, in which many highly qualified female
staff members work: Listening and Dialogue, Reflection and Research,
Communication and Outreach.
Among the challenges and issues addressed by the dicastery –
alongside the poor, the environment, humanitarian aid, disarmament, trade,
migrants, finance, war, and justice – the issue of Artificial Intelligence has
also been added in recent years. The DSSUI is, in fact, a member of the newly
formed Inter-Dicasterial Commission for AI, established in May to facilitate
the exchange of information and projects on this revolution of our time, to
which Pope Leo dedicated the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.
Source: Vatican News
