Pope Leo XIV Names Salesian Nun to Lead a Vatican Dicastery — With a Cardinal as Her Deputy

Smerilli is the second woman in a month Pope Leo has placed atop a Curia office, succeeding Cardinal Michael Czerny at the dicastery behind his peace, migration, and climate agenda. Her new second-in-command is a cardinal.

Jun 30, 2026

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On Tuesday, June 30, Pope Leo XIV named Sister Alessandra Smerilli prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Vatican office charged with the Church’s work on migrati…

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