In another landmark move, Pope Francis has appointed six women to the Vatican’s economic council. This is the first for the financial watchdog that oversees administrative and financial structures of the Holy See.
According to a statement from the Vatican, the women will work alongside a 15-member body that includes 8 cardinals and another male lay expert. (Read: Pope Francis Appoints Women for Top Posts in the Vatican)
Women Leaders
The six women have made names in the competitive fields of academe, politics, and finance. (Read: Frontliner Nuns Honored in Online Symposium at the Vatican)
Two of them are from Germany: Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchhof, a law professor at the Heinrich-Heine University in Dusseldorf, and Marija Kolak, President of the German Association of Credit Unions and Volkskassen.
Two women came from Spain: Maria Concepcion Osacar Garaicoechea, president of the board of Azora Capital and Azora Gestion, an independent investment manager. Eva Castillo Sanz, a member of the board of directors of Spanish bank Bankia and elevator manufacturer Zardoya Otis.
The other two are British members: former Labor Education Secretary Ruth Mary Kelly served under Tony Blair and worked for HSBC Global Asset Management. She is currently the vice chancellor for research and entreprise at St. Mary’s University in Twickenham until the end of the month. Leslie Jane Ferrar, on the other hand, was treasurer to Charles, Prince of Wales until 2017. She has been a trustee of the Archdiocese of Westminster for 19 years and a non-executive director of real estate investment trust company Secure Income REIT for six years.
Vatican Economic Council
The Vatican Economic Council is a 15-member body that was established in 2014 as part of Pope Francis’ program for financial reform. According to its statutes, the council is in charge of supervising the administrative and financial structures and activities of the Roman Curia, institutions of the Holy See, and Vatican City State. (Read: Pope Francis Names the New Director of Vatican Health Fund)
Aside from the six laywomen, Pope Francis has also named six Cardinals as new members of the council: Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark; Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm; Peter Erdo, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest; Odilo Pedro Scherer, Archbishop of Sao Paulo; Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec; and Giuseppe Petrocchi, Archbishop of L’Aquila.
