Pope Francis appoints a religious nun and a priest under secretaries of the synod

Pope Francis on Saturday appointed a Spanish priest and a French nun as sub-secretaries of the Synod of Bishops.

It is the first time that a woman has held a position of this level within the general secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

Luis Marín de San Martín and Sister Nathalie Becquart will replace Bishop Fabio Fabene, appointed secretary of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in January.

Working with and under the secretary general, Cardinal Mario Grech, Marín and Becquart, they will prepare the next Vatican synod, scheduled for October 2022.  

In an interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Grech said in this position, Becquart will vote in future synods along with other voting members, who are bishops, priests and some religious.

During the 2018 synod of youth, some people asked that the religious be able to vote on the final document of the synod.

According to the canonical norms that govern synods of bishops, only clerics - that is, deacons, priests or bishops - can be voting members.

Grech noted on February 6 that "during the last Synods, numerous Synod Fathers have emphasized the need for the entire Church to reflect on the place and role of women within the Church".

"Pope Francis too has repeatedly stressed the importance of women being more involved in the processes of discernment and decision-making in the Church," she said.

“Already in the last synods the number of women participating as experts or auditors has increased. With the appointment of Sister Nathalie Becquart, and the possibility that she participate with the right to vote, a door has opened ”, said Grech. "We will then see what other steps could be taken in the future."

Sister Nathalie Becquart, 51, has been a member of the Xavieres Congregation since 1995.

Since 2019 she is one of the five consultors, four of whom are women, of the general secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

Due to her extensive experience in youth ministry, Becquart was involved in the preparation of the Synod of Bishops on Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment in 2018, she was general coordinator of a pre-synodal meeting and took part as an auditor.

She was director of the national service of the French bishops for the evangelization of young people and for vocations from 2012 to 2018.

Marín, 59, is from Madrid, Spain, and is a priest of the Order of Saint Augustine. He is assistant general and general archivist of the Augustinians, based in the general curia of the order in Rome, which is located just off St. Peter's Square in Rome.

He is also president of the Institutum Spiritualitatis Augustinianae.

Professor of theology, Marín taught in a university and in several Augustinian centers in Spain. He was also a seminary trainer, provincial councilor and prior of a monastery.

As Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, Marín will become the titular bishop of the See of Suliana.

Cardinal Grech affirmed that Marín "has extensive experience in accompanying communities in decision-making processes and his knowledge of the Second Vatican Council will be precious so that the roots of the synodal journey always remain present".

He also noted that the appointment of Marín and Becquart will "undoubtedly" lead to other changes in the structure of the general secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

"I would like the three of us, and all the staff of the Synodal Secretariat, to work with the same spirit of collaboration and experience a new style of 'synodal' leadership," he said, "a service leadership that is less clerical and hierarchical, which allows participation and co-responsibility without renouncing at the same time the responsibilities entrusted to them ".