Vatican’s First Woman Dicastery Prefect to Address Philippine Religious Leaders

Sr. Simona Brambilla, the first woman to head a major Vatican dicastery, will deliver the keynote address at a gathering of Catholic religious leaders in the Philippines in September.

Sr. Simona Brambilla, prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, will speak at the second Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP) Convention, scheduled for September 1–5 in Zamboanga City, southern Philippines.

The convention will carry the theme, “Consecrated Persons: Prophetic Witnesses of Peace in a Wounded World,” focusing on the role of religious communities amid conflicts, social divisions and other challenges facing society.

Sr. Brambilla, 61, is a former nurse who became a missionary with the Consolata Missionary Sisters. She served as the congregation’s superior general from 2011 to 2023.

She earned a doctorate in psychology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 2008, with a dissertation examining evangelization and inculturation in Mozambique.

Before becoming prefect, Sr. Brambilla served as secretary of the Vatican dicastery responsible for consecrated life. Pope Francis appointed her prefect in January 2025, making her the first woman to lead a Vatican dicastery.

In February 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed Sr. Brambilla as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops, giving her another significant role in the Roman Curia.

The CMSP, which represents leaders of Catholic religious institutes and societies of consecrated life in the Philippines, said the convention will bring together Church leaders, consecrated persons and pastoral experts to reflect on their mission and witness.

Other speakers include Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Vicar of Taytay and chairman of the CBCP Office on Stewardship, who will lead the first conference.

Fr. Norman Melchor Peña of the Society of St. Paul, rector and dean of studies at St. Paul Seminary Foundation, will lead the second conference.

Bishop Elias Ayuban Jr. of Cubao, who previously served in the Vatican dicastery overseeing consecrated life, will lead the third conference on behalf of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Mutual Relations.

Sr. Thu Do of the Lovers of the Holy Cross will lead the fourth conference, drawing on her research at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos, chairman of the CBCP Office for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons, will lead the fifth conference.

The CMSP said participants would be “blessed by the wisdom and experience” of Church leaders, consecrated persons and pastoral experts as they reflect on how religious communities can become prophetic witnesses of peace in a wounded world.