The Pope appoints a woman undersecretary to the Secretariat of State: Francesca Di Giovanni
Pope Francis has appointed a female undersecretary to the Secretariat of State. This is Francesca Di Giovanni, born in Palermo in 1953, with a degree in law and who worked in the legal-administrative sector at the International Center of the Focolare Movement.
Pope Francis has nominated Francesca Di Giovannifor almost thirty years in the Secretariat of State, Undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States. It is the first time that a woman occupies such a high management position in the Holy See, particularly in the Third Vatican Loggia, and Di Giovanni’s appointment came with a pope who since the beginning of his pontificate has spoken of the need to give more space for women. Francesca di Giovanni, born in 1953, was born in Palermo, she graduated in Law, she is part of the Focolare Movement and in the movement she started working in the juridical-administrative sector of the International Center of the Opera di Maria. Official of the Secretariat of State since 15 September 1993, the Holy See announces that the new undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States “has always carried out her service in the multilateral sector, especially with regard to issues concerning migrants and refugees, the international humanitarian law, communications, private international law, the status of women, intellectual property and tourism ”.
Interviewed by the Vatican media, Di Giovanni said she did not expect Bergoglio to entrust her with this role: “Indeed, it is the first time that a woman has a managerial role in the Secretariat of State. The Holy Father took an innovative decision, certainly, which, beyond my person, represents a sign of attention towards women. But the responsibility is linked to the task, more than to the fact of being a woman ”. “The words of the Holy Father in the homily of last January 1, in which he makes – we can say – cannot fail to come to mind. a hymn to the role of women, also saying that ‘The woman is a donor and mediator of peace and must be fully associated with decision-making processes. Because when women can transmit their gifts, the world finds itself more united and more at peace ‘”, commented the new undersecretary. Francesca Di Giovanni, informs the Vatican, will hold the position of Undersecretary for the multilateral sector of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State. Up to now she has been an Official of the same Section for Relations with States.
