Simona Brambilla (born 27 March 1965) is an Italian Catholic

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated: Sr.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and ...

who serves as Prefect of the

Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (DICLSAL and formerly CICLSAL; ), is the dicastery of the Roman Cu ...

in 2025. She is a member of the

Consolata Missionaries The Institute of Consolata Missionaries (), commonly called the Consolata Missionaries, is a Catholic religious congregation of Pontifical Right with branches for both men and women. Its members add the nominal I.M.C. after their names to indicat ...

and is the first woman to head a department of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

. Brambilla led the women's branch of the Consolata Missionaries from 2011 to 2023 and became the first female secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life in 2023.

Biography

Brambilla was born in

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

, in

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, on 27 March 1965. She obtained a diploma in nursing 1986, and worked at the L. Mandic Hospital in

Merate Merate (; Brianzöö: ) is a municipality of 15.020 inhabitants in the province of Lecco, in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is served by Cernusco-Merate railway station. History The name ''Melatum'' appeared for the first time ...

(

Province of Lecco The province of Lecco (; Lecchese: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecco. As of 2017, the province had a population of 337,211 on a surface of divided into 85 ''comuni'' (: ''com ...

). She entered the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of Consolata in 1988 and made her first religious profession in 1991. She received a licentiate in psychology from the Institute of Psychology of the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in 1998. Beginning in 1999, after making her final profession, Brambilla was responsible for youth ministry at the Macua Xirima Study Center in Maua,

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. She taught from 2002 to 2006 at the Gregorian's Institute of Psychology and earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in psychology there in 2008, with a thesis on evangelization and inculturation in Mozambique. She served as general councilor for the Consolata Missionaries from 2005 to 2011. Brambilla was elected to a six-year term as superior general of the women's branch of the

on 7 June 2011, and elected to a second term in 2017, which concluded in May 2023. In July 2023, Pope Francis chose Brambilla to participate in the

Synod on Synodality The 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, commonly referred to as the Synod on Synodality, was a Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church, Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church which concluded 27 October 2024 and has as its th ...

. On 8 July 2019, Pope Francis named her and six others as the first women members of the

. On 7 October 2023, Pope Francis appointed her the first female secretary of that Dicastery. She is the second woman to hold this rank in a dicastery of the

after

Alessandra Smerilli Alessandra Smerilli, FMA (born 14 November 1974) is an Italian Catholic economist, academic, and religious sister who serves as the Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the Roman Curia since August 2021. She was ...

at the

Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development () is a dicastery of the Roman curia. The Vatican announced the creation of the dicastery on 31 August 2016 and it became effective 1 January 2017. Cardinal Peter Turkson was named its fi ...

, while two other women hold the same title at other departments (not dicasteries):

Nathalie Becquart Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ (born 1969) is a French Catholic religious sister who has served as an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops since 2021. She is the first woman to hold such a position and the first to have voting rights in the Synod. ...

at the Synod of Bishops and

Raffaella Petrini Raffaella Petrini (born 15 January 1969) is an Italian Catholic religious sister who has served as president of the Pontifical Commission and Governorate of Vatican City State since March 2025. She was Secretary General of the Governorate of V ...

at the

Governorate of Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (, ) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who also holds the title of President of the Governorate and deputizes as the head of government of Vatican City, as well ...

. On December 13, 2024, Pope Francis named her and

María Lía Zervino María Lía Zervino (born 1951 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentinian consecrated virgin and a sociologist. Being a member of the ''Asociación de Vírgenes Consagradas Servidoras'' ("Association of Consecrated Virgin Servants") she served as Preside ...

along with two cardinals as his appointees to the 16th Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod. They were the first women appointed to that role. On 6 January 2025, Pope Francis named her Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. With this appointment, she became the first woman to head a department of the Roman Curia. Her term was suspended automatically with the death of

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, but was renewed provisionally by

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

Selected writings

* Insights from the experience of a women's missionary congregation in dialogue with Teresa of Lisieux

References

;Additional sources * * On the Macua Xirima Study Center and Mozambique.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brambilla, Simona Living people 1965 births 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Women officials of the Roman Curia Superiors general Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Female Roman Catholic missionaries Members of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life Pontifical Gregorian University alumni People from Monza