Awards
On 28 May 2020, she was awarded (receiving in early 2021) the Order of the Star of Italy. [21]
Alessandra Smerilli F.M.A., PhD | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development | |
| Assumed office 26 August 2021 (interim) 23 April 2022 (permanent) | |
| Preceded by | Msgr. Bruno Marie Duffé |
| Undersecretary of Faith and Development Sector of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development | |
| In office 24 March 2021 –26 August 2021 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 14 November 1974 Vasto,Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Alma mater | Roma Tre University,University of East Anglia,Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences Auxilium |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Order | Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco F.M.A. |
| Profession | Economist,Professor,Curia Official |
| Senior posting | |
Alessandra Smerilli,FMA (born 14 November 1974) is an Italian Catholic economist,academic,and religious sister who serves as the Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the Roman Curia since August 2021. She was the first women to be appointed secretary of a dicastery,the second most senior official of a Curia department after the prefect,which made her the highest ranking woman in the Roman Curia at the time.
Smerilli holds a post-PhD (it. docente) degree in political economy and statistics,obtained from the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences Auxilium. [1] She is a member of the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco.
Alessandra Smerilli was born on 14 November 1974 in Vasto,Italy. [2] In July 1993,Smerilli graduated from the Raffaele Mattioli Scientific High School in her native town,Vasto [2] and later began her studies in economics.
Four years later,in 1997,she has entered the congregation of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and at the request of her superior,she continued her studies in economics. [3]
Allesandra continued her studies at the Faculty of Economics of the Roma Tre University and in July 2001,graduated from economics and commerce with specialization in political economy with full marks,honours and the right to publish the thesis. [2]
In June 2006,she obtained a doctorate degree in political economy at the University of Rome "La Sapienza",and on 21 June 2014,received a PhD degree in economics from the School of Economics of the University of East Anglia in Norwich,UK. [2]
Sister Alessandra Smerilli works at the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences Auxilium as an extraordinary professor of political economy and statistics,and also as a member of the University's board of directors. She also teaches economics,ethics and finance at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Salesian Pontifical University and in the master's program in civil and non-profit economics at the University of Milan-Bicocca. [2]
Since 2008,she is a member of the Scientific and Organizational committees of the Social Weeks of Italian Catholics,and since 2013 the Secretary of this initiative. Additionally,she is a member of the Ethics Committees of the CHARIS consortium and also of the Banca Popolare Etica,and a founding member of the School of Civil Economics. [2]
In May 2020 –with the reception in early 2021 –she was awarded the Order of the Star of Italy for her "academic achievements and commitment to the ethical principles in business and finance". [4] [5]
Smerilli was among the first group of women Pope Francis placed in formal senior leadership roles in the Roman Curia.
In 2018,she was an auditor at the 15th ordinary general assembly of the Synod of Bishops which took place in Vatican City from 3 to 28 October 2018 on the theme "Young people,faith and vocational discernment". [6]
On 17 April 2019,Pope Francis appointed her as a councilor of the Vatican City State. [7] [8] [9] Soon after on 24 May 2019,the Pope further appointed her consultant to the general secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. [10] [11]
Since spring 2020,she has coordinated the Economic Task Force of the Vatican COVID-19 Commission,an institution created by Pope Francis to express the Church's concern in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and to propose answers to the socio-economic challenges of the future. [12]
Sister Alessandra Smerilli is also a member of the Women for a New Renaissance [13] a task force set up by the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the family of the Italian politician Elena Bonetti. [9] [14]
On 24 March 2021, Pope Francis appointed her the Undersecretary for the Faith and Development Sector of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development of the Roman Curia. [15] [16] She was named the interim secretary on 26 August 2021, making her the first woman to hold the second-ranking position in a dicastery in the Roman Curia, and the highest ranking woman in the curia at the time. [17] Her appointment as the Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development was made permanent on 23 April 2022. [18] She was joined at comparable ranks by Raffaella Petrini who was appointed secretary general of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State in November 2021, and Simona Brambilla who was appointed Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in October 2023.
In 2024, she contributed the foreword to a publication of Caritas Internationalis entitled Equality, Encounter, Renewal: A Caritas commitment to the promotion of women’s leadership and participation, based on the Holy Scriptures and Catholic Social Teaching values and principles. [19] [20]
On 28 May 2020, she was awarded (receiving in early 2021) the Order of the Star of Italy. [21]
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