Biography
Raffaella Petrini was born in Rome on 15 January 1969, [2] and graduated with a degree in political science from the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali (LUISS) in Rome. [3] [4] She then studied at the Barney School of Business at the University of Hartford (Connecticut), receiving a masters degree in organizational behavior in 2001. [5] [6] [7] She entered the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in 2008, earning a licentiate 2011 and a doctorate in 2014. [6] She was later appointed professor there and taught courses in welfare economics and the sociology of economic processes. [3] [4]
From 2005 to 2021, Petrini worked on the staff of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. [3] On 4 November 2021, Pope Francis appointed her secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State, [8] the first woman to hold that position. [3] He later noted that she was the highest-ranking woman in the world's smallest state. [9] On 13 July 2022, Pope Francis appointed women as members of the Dicastery for Bishops for the first time, including Petrini, Yvonne Reungoat, and María Lía Zervino. [10] [11]
On 15 February 2025, Pope Francis named Petrini president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, effective on 1 March. [12] [13] She is the first woman to occupy this position. [14] Her authority was suspended by law upon the death of Pope Francis in April 2025. [15] His successor Pope Leo XIV confirmed her role on 9 May, the day after he took office. [16]
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