The Vatican has appointed a nun to the number three position in one of its departments, the highest position held by a woman within the hierarchy at the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope John Paul II appointed Sister Enrica Rosanna, an Italian nun, to the post of under-secretary at a Vatican department called the Congregation for Consecrated Life, it said in a statement on Saturday.
The department is responsible for Catholic religious orders and congregations around the world.
In March, the Pope appointed a U.S. woman professor, Mary Ann Glendon, to head a Vatican academy, the first time a woman had chaired such an important post within the church.