Raffaella Petrini becomes first-ever female secretary-general of Vatican governorate

Pope Francis has appointed Raffaella Petrini as the secretary-general of the governorate of Vatican city state.

The appointment was announced in a statement by the press office of the pope on Thursday.

According to the Catholic News Agency, Petrini is the first woman to be appointed as secretary-general, which is the “second-ranking position in the government of the Vatican City State”.

In the statement by the office of the pope, Petrini clocked 52 in January.

“The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Sr. Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., until now official of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, as secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State,” the statement reads.

“The Reverend Sr. Raffaella Petrini was born in Rome on 15 January 1969. She was awarded a degree in political sciences by the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Guido Carli, and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, where she is currently a lecturer. From 2005 to the present, she has served as an official of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.”

Petrini is second in command to Fernando Alzaga, who was appointed as president of the Vatican governorate in September 2021.

Vatican City was formally recognised as a sovereign nation in 1929, and the governorate performs administrative functions as the executive arm of the state.

The pope is the head of Vatican City.