First woman appointed to senior post at Vatican

The first woman to be appointed to a senior management role in the Vatican said that she did not expect the appointment, but was looking forward to advancing a "feminine point of view" in her new role. Pope Francis appointed Francesca Di Giovanni to be the new undersecretary for multilateral affairs in the Vatican's Secretariat of State.

The Pope "surprised us, as he often does, with this decision", Di Giovanni said. Speaking to local media on Wednesday, she said that she had not yet had the chance to speak with the Pope since her appointment, but that she intends to write to him.