In a quiet month, lots of noise about lay leadership
As religious nuns and brothers are of course lay people, the key changes Pope Francis is making to their governance roles open up new opportunities for all the laity.
In a ground-breaking decision, Pope Francis has appointed a woman for the first time as prefect of a Vatican dicastery. On January 6 he appointed the Italian missionary nun, Simona Brambilla, M.C., 59, as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Pontifical MPJPs of course relate to this Dicastery. Sister Brambilla is a member of the Consolata Missionaries religious order
In an equally unprecedented move, he has appointed a cardinal as the next in rank in that dicastery, naming the Spanish cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, S.D.B., 65, the former head of the Salesian order, as the pro-prefect, the number-two role. When Francis made Artime a cardinal on Sept. 30, 2023, many had expected that he would choose him as prefect of this dicastery.
In the apostolic constitution on the reform of the Roman Curia, “Praedicate Evangelium,” which Pope Francis promulgated in March 2022, he separated the charism of Holy Orders from that of governance in the Roman Curia, making it possible for men and women who are not ordained priests or bishops to hold senior positions of responsibility and governance, including that of prefect in a Vatican dicastery. These positions had previously been reserved for clerics, usually cardinals or bishops.
Then, on Jan 21, Pope Francis announced that he will install Franciscan nun Raffaella Petrini as head of the General Secretariat 
of the Government of the Vatican City State.
The news was made public by the Holy Father during an interview on the Italian television program “Che Tempo Che Fa” (“What’s the Weather Like?”).
“We now have many women. For example, to select bishops on the commission there are three women selecting new bishops. The vice president of the Vatican Governorate, who will be governor in March, is a nun. In the Dicastery of the Economy, the vice president is a nun with two degrees … Women know how to manage things better than us,” he said.
In future Church governance, hierarchy meets partnership
Emeritus Professor John Warhurst, a well-respected Catholic reformer and a key player at the Australian Plenary Council, has written an outsider’s view of MPJPs and AMPJP.
You can read it here.
Brother Olly Pickett is Senior Australian of the Year 2025, and…
Christian Brother Thomas Oliver (Olly) Pickett AM co-founded Wheelchairs For Kids in 1996 to provide adjustable wheelchairs and
occupational therapy expertise for children in developing countries, free of charge.
Since then, more than 60,000 custom-built wheelchairs have been gifted to children in over 80 countries.
As MPJPs seek to follow in the charism of their founding order(s), the witness of Olly and so many other religious is a great inspiration. A few questions come to mind. Do MPJP lay leaders and other Catholic lay people offer the same witness value as religious? As they lead a different lifestyle, can they? Also, though we have often retained the larger institutions through MPJPs, have we mostly lost the ability of religious orders to set up new ministries to meet new needs through the initiatives of their members?
Well to help answer the first question at least, Frank Malloy, the Director of Marist Schools Australia, was quick to share a lesser known fact, that the Australian of the Year 2025 is actually a Marist old boy!
The Marist Association gave a “heartfelt congratulations to Neale Daniher, an Assumption College Kilmore alumnus, on being named the 2025 Australian of the Year!
“Neale’s unwavering dedication and tireless efforts in raising awareness and advancing motor neurone disease (MND) research are truly inspiring. This recognition is both extraordinary and richly deserved!”
Asia’s only MPJP focussed on meeting new needs
Catholic Healthcare Asia is the only MPJP in the region. They run Singapore’s only non-profit hospital, Mt Alvernia, which is rapidly expanding despite a very limited site.
On my recent visit, CEO Dr James Lam Kian Ming, explained their mission focus, constantly meeting new needs in the community while keeping fees to patients below other private providers. An aged care respite/activity centre and hospice, a new mother and child centre, robotic assisted surgery and an upcoming first private mental health clinic in Singapore are all recent developments.
In the photo left to right are Daphne Leong CHCA mission formation Director, Wendy Louis CHCA Chair, and Joyce Ong Mission manager for Assisi Hospice.
The bright lady seated is a daycare recipient who was making the most amazing leather bags. The bag on the right is near completion, that on the left a previous creation.
The positive atmosphere in the hospital and other centres was very obvious, with constant references to improving the experience of patients and their families.
AMPJP to launch an initiative for the whole Church
AMPJP is looking to evolve its website and email, which collate all the formation and leadership offerings from around Australia (and a few beyond). Currently a service to its MPJP members, the service will soon be advertised to all Australian Catholics. The relaunch is planned in April.
The overall aim is to greatly increase lay people’s engagement in every part of their faith life, as parishioners or when associated with one of the Church’s ministries. Although every person will decide on their own faith journey, this should inspire more people working towards the ultimate goal of formation, a person having a personal relationship with God and living as a missionary disciple.
As a side note, while trialling the advertising of this service through LinkedIn, every post showing this beautiful picture of the Santa Casa retreat centre in Queenscliff, Victoria, drew five times as many responses as any other post. This site certainly speaks of the beauty of God in nature, and how that draws us to respond to God in our lives.
Martin Teulan
