Pope Francis broke one of the Vatican’s “stained-glass ceilings” on Monday, Jan. 6, by appointing a woman, Italian sister Simona Brambilla, M.C., as the prefect of a Vatican dicastery for the first time. While most headlines made clear the historic nature of the appointment, the news also features some Vaticanese that may leave some readers scratching their heads: What is a prefect? A pro-prefect? A dicastery? Here’s an explanation of the details. What is Sister Brambilla’s new job? Sister Brambilla, a member of the Consolata Missionaries religious order, has been appointed prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and…
