Sr. Tiziana Merletti New Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life 

Vatican City, May 22, 2025 – His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sister Tiziana Merletti, S.F.P., as the new Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The appointment will take effect in September 2025.

Born in Pineto (province of Teramo) on September 30, 1959, Sister Tiziana made her first religious profession in 1986 in the Institute of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, to which she still belongs. Her academic and formative background includes a degree in Law (1984) and a Doctorate in Canon Law (1992), obtained from the Pontifical Lateran University.

From 2004 to 2013, she served as Superior General of her religious institute, offering leadership and spiritual animation with a broad international outlook. She has taught Canon Law at the Pontifical Antonianum University in Rome and, as a canon lawyer, has served at the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), working actively with the joint Safeguarding Commission of the USG and UISG.

The appointment of Sister Tiziana Merletti is a significant recognition of her legal expertise, her deep knowledge of consecrated life, and her dedicated ecclesial service over the years. Her experience will be invaluable in guiding, with discernment and renewed vitality, the journey of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life in today's context.

To the new Secretary of the Dicastery, we extend our best wishes for a fruitful and enlightened service to the universal Church.