For the first time, a woman will be appointed as the Governor of Vatican City.

Raffaella Petrini will succeed Archbishop Fernando Verges Alsaga as the head of the government of the city-state, who will turn 80 on March 1.

Since 2021, Petrini has held the position of Secretary General of the Vatican Governorate.

"The work of women in the Curia (the main administrative body of the Holy See and Vatican) has progressed slowly but effectively. Women are doing better than us," noted the Pope during a talk show.

At the beginning of January, the Pope appointed Sister Simona Brambilla as the head of the department overseeing the religious orders of the Catholic Church. She became the first woman in history to lead one of the Vatican's departments.

In November 2023, the Vatican confirmed for the first time the possibility of transgender individuals participating in the sacraments of baptism and marriage. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith announced that transgender people can be baptized and can serve as godparents or witnesses at weddings. The exception is situations where there is a risk of causing public scandal or "confusion among the faithful."

Last week, the Vatican also permitted openly gay individuals to become priests, provided they adhere to celibacy. At the same time, women are still prohibited from becoming Catholic priests, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Previously, Francis described laws criminalizing LGBT+ individuals as unjust. The Catholic Church can and should work to put an end to them, he added. "Being homosexual is not a crime," the pontiff said in an interview with the Associated Press. However, Francis noted that while being homosexual is not a crime, it is a sin. The Catholic Church does not recognize same-sex marriages, "because God cannot bless sin," according to a decree from the Vatican in 2021.