Pope Francis names first woman to senior Vatican diplomatic post

Pope Francis named the first woman to hold a high-ranking post in the Secretariat of State, the male-dominated Vatican’s diplomatic and administrative nerve center.

Italian lay woman Francesca Di Giovanni, who was named by Pope Francis as the first woman to hold a high-ranking post in the Vatican's Secretariat of State, is pictured at the Vatican, December 23, 2013. Picture taken December 23, 2013. [Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS]

Italian lay woman Francesca Di Giovanni, 66, will assume a newly-created post in a division known as the Section for Relations with States where she takes the rank of under-secretary, effectively one of two deputy foreign ministers.