They are among 13 new members to the council responsible for supervising the economic management of the structures, along with the administrative and financial activities, of the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as the Institutions connected with the Holy See and Vatican City State.

Pope Francis created the Council for the Economy in February 2014 as part of continuing efforts to bring more oversight to the Vatican’s financial dealings after a series of damaging scandals.

The Council is composed of 15 members, eight of whom are chosen from among cardinals and bishops to reflect the universality of the Church. The other seven are experts of various nationalities, with financial expertise and recognised professional credentials.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, remains as coordinator of the Council.

The appointment of six women with financial, academic and political expertise to the Council follows the announcement In January that Pope Francis had selected a woman, Francesca Di Giovanni, to a senior role within the Secretariat of State, equivalent to the Vatican’s foreign affairs ministry.