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  • Updated: February 07, 2021

Pope Breaks With Tradition, Appoints First Female Senior Bishop

Pope Breaks With Tradition, Appoints First Female Senior Bis

Pope Francis on Saturday broke with tradition as he appointed Frenchwoman Nathalie Bacquart as an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishop. Bacquart will be the first woman to hold the position and have voting rights.

The 52-year-old woman is one of the new undersecretaries named to the synod, the body of bishops which studies major questions of doctrine and where she has served as a consultant since 2019.

The appointment is a signal of the pontiff’s desire “for a greater participation of women in the process of discernment and decision-making in the church,” said Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary general of the synod.

He added “During the previous synods, the number of women participating as experts and listeners has increased.”

“With the nomination of Sister Nathalie Becquart and her possibility of participating in voting, a door has opened,” the cardinal said.

The synod is led by bishops and cardinals with voting rights and also comprises experts that don’t vote.

The Argentinian-born pope has made his desire to reform the synod known and have women and lay people play a greater role in the church.

READ ALSO: Pope Francis Amends Catholic Church Law For Women

Additionally, the Pope named Spaniard Luis Marin de San Martin as the other under undersecretary in the synod of bishops.

Bacquart is a member of the France-based Xaviere Sisters with a master’s degree in management from the prestigious HEC business school in Paris and studied in Boston before joining the order.

Becquart, a member of the France-based Xaviere Sisters, has a master’s degree in management from the prestigious HEC business school in Paris and studied in Boston before joining the order.

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