Pope Francis on Monday named the first woman to head a major Vatican office, appointing an Italian nun, Sister Simona Brambilla, to become prefect of the department responsible for all the Catholic Church's religious orders.

Sister Simona Brambilla was appointed as the prefect of a Vatican office that oversees religious orders, but she may not be alone at the top.

In a historic move, Pope Francis has appointed Sister Simona Brambilla, 59, as the first woman to head a major Vatican dicastery. The Italian nun will take the helm of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, which oversees the world's Catholic religious orders.