As cardinals prepare to gather in the Sistine Chapel to select the next pope, another assembly is underway just miles away: Nearly 900 leaders of female Catholic religious orders are meeting in Rome. These superiors—representing over 450,000 nuns globally—opened their plenary assembly Monday with a call to support Pope Francis' vision for a more inclusive church. The meeting, led by Sister Mary Barron, president of the International Union of Superiors General, comes at a pivotal moment, as only men can vote to determine the next leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church.
"We must be vigilant in doing our part to keep that flame of church renewal alive," Barron told the assembly. She encouraged attendees—clad in both habits and street clothes—to "dare to dream a future that reflects the boundless love of God." Among those present was Sister Nathalie Becquart, who made history in 2021 as the first female undersecretary in the Vatican's Synod of Bishops, a move that suggested the church might eventually open more high-level roles to women.
Meanwhile, the secretive conclave of cardinals to pick the next pope doesn't formally begin until Wednesday, but USA Today reports that "an unspoken selection process" already is well underway. "This is very much the crucial period, in fact, simply because in any election you need momentum," Robert Harris, author of the novel behind the film Conclave, tells the newspaper. "I don't know how you can do that without being pretty well-known and the best period to become well-known is now." (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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