It's official: Raffaella Petrini will be the President of the Vatican City State as of March 1. This is a decision by the Pope that was expected within the Curia and that Pope Francis announced in a television interview in January.
POPE FRANCIS
The work of women in the curia is something that has gone slowly and has been well understood.
In the Governorate, the Vice-Governor, who will become Governor in March, is a nun.
The Pope signed the appointment on February 15, and did so while admitted at the Gemelli Polyclinic hospital, although the appointment position will come into effect in a few days.
Until now, this Franciscan nun was the Vice-Governor and right-hand man of the current president, Cardinal Vérgez, who is retiring at the age of 80.
Pope Francis has publicly praised the work of women who work in the Vatican. In fact, he spoke of Petrini in this way more than two years ago, when he returned from his trip to Bahrain.
POPE FRANCIS
I have seen that in the Vatican, whenever a woman comes in to do work in the Vatican, things improve. For example, the Vice Governor of the Vatican is a woman. The Vice Governor is a woman and things have changed for the better.
The same was said by one of her colleagues in the dicastery for bishops, where Pope Francis chose three women, including Petrini, to examine possible candidates.
MARIA LIA ZERVINO
Member of the Dicastery for Bishops
Sister Raffaella has a lifetime of experience in the service of the Holy See. She certainly knows everything that is involved in the Roman Curia, the Vatican, and has wonderful years of experience.
Petrini has a degree in Political Science and is an expert in economic matters. Her profile since she started at the Vatican has been very discreet, especially when she was promoted to Vice-Governor in 2021.
Now, Petrini will become the highest-ranking woman in the smallest country in the world, which has 800 inhabitants and more than 3,000 employees.
She will also be in charge of managing the Vatican police forces, such as the police or firefighters, as well as health issues and, what is known as the crown jewel: the Vatican museums.
CA
TR: GS
