Introduction
Pope Francis’s papacy has seen a significant increase in the number of women holding high-ranking positions within the Vatican. However, his efforts towards a more inclusive role for women in the broader church have been limited.
Appointments of Women in Key Vatican Positions
In February 2025, while battling double pneumonia in the hospital, Pope Francis appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini to a position similar to that of the Vatican’s Governor. Just weeks prior, he named Sister Simona Brambilla as the first woman to head an important Vatican department, overseeing Catholic religious orders worldwide.
Delayed Progress on Women’s Ordination
Despite these appointments, Francis disappointed some advocates for greater female participation in the church by postponing the issue of allowing women to be ordained as clergy. He established two commissions to consider whether women could serve as deacons, similar to priests who are ordained but cannot celebrate mass. However, he did not advance the issue and repeatedly reaffirmed Pope John Paul II’s 1994 ban on women priests.
Mixed Legacy and Reactions
Anna Rowlands, a British scholar and occasional Vatican advisor, described Francis’s legacy on women in the church as “complex.” She acknowledged that he has done more than any other recent pontiff to ensure greater numbers of women in higher authority positions. However, she noted that most of this change occurred within existing parameters, only slightly adjusting the system.
Paola Lazzarini, an Italian advocate for church reform, described Francis as the “first pope fully aware of the glaring and deeply unjust imbalance” between men and women in the church. However, she criticized his approach as primarily individual appointments and commission establishments that failed to produce concrete results.
Commissions on Women Deacons
The first commission on women deacons, active from 2016 to 2019, studied whether women had been ordained as deacons in the early centuries of the church, as mentioned in the Bible. The group prepared a report for the Vatican, which was never made public. Francis stated that the commission could not reach a consensus on the issue, a claim contested by some of its members since then.
A second commission was established in 2020 but never completed its work.
Key Questions and Answers
- What impact has Pope Francis had on women in the Vatican? He has appointed more women to high-ranking positions within the Vatican than ever before.
- Has Pope Francis supported women’s ordination as clergy? No, he has not advanced the issue and reaffirmed the ban on women priests established by Pope John Paul II.
- What were the objectives of the commissions on women deacons? These commissions aimed to study whether women had been ordained as deacons in the early centuries of the church and to consider if women could serve as deacons today.
- What were the outcomes of these commissions? The first commission produced a report that was never made public, and the group could not reach a consensus. The second commission was established but never completed its work.
