Rocco put it this way: She becomes the “1st woman to hold a bishop-level Curia post.”
From Vatican News:
Pope Francis has appointed Sr Nathalie Becquart and Fr Luis Marín de San Martín to be the Under-Secretaries of the Synod of Bishops.
Currently headed by Cardinal Mario Grech, the Synod of Bishops is a permanent institution established by Pope Paul VI in 1965, in response to the desire of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council to keep alive the spirit of collegiality engendered by the conciliar experience.
The appointment of Sr Natalie Becquart is particularly interesting as it is the first time ever a woman has been appointed to this position.
About Sister Nathalie:
Nathalie Becquart was born in 1969 in Fontainebleau, France. She graduated from the HEC school of management with a Master in Management with a specialization in Entrepreneurship in Jouy-en-Josas in 1992, and went on to study philosophy at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Between 1992-1993 she spent her volunteer year in Beirut, Lebanon, working as a Professor of Mathematics and French in a Catholic High School and taking Philosophy and theology courses at ISSR-St Joseph Jesuit University of Beirut. This was followed by two years working as a Consultant in a marketing and advertising agency for NGO’s and Christian organizations (EJC consulting) in Paris. Nathalie Joined the Xaviere sisters, missionaries of Christ-Jesus (Apostolic Congregation of Ignatian Spirituality) in August 1995 and took her final vows in September 2005. She has since worked in various roles including Spiritual Director for the Ignatian Youth Network in France National Coordinator of the scouting program for youth in poor urban multicultural areas, Scouts de France; President of the Ignatian association “Life at Sea, entry into prayer”; Director of Campus Ministry in Créteil (University of East Paris) and member of the diocesan office of youth ministry, WYD diocesan coordinator in 2007-2008; Deputy Director of the National Service for the Evangelization of Youth and for Vocations (SNEJV), in charge of university pastoral care, at the French Episcopal Conference; Director of the National Service for the Evangelization of Youth and for Vocations (SNEJV) at the French Bishop’s conference (Sept. 2012- August 2018 for a 6 years term); Member of the Bishop’s council of the Diocese of Nanterre France (with Bishop Michel Aupetit who is now the Archbishop of Paris); Vice-President of the European Vocations Service (CCEE). Between 2016-2018 she was part of the preparatory team for the Synod on youth in the Vatican; in October 2018, Auditor at the Synod of Bishops on “Youth, faith and vocational discernment”. Since then to date Sr Nathalie has been following Vatican sabbatical programs at CTU (Catholic Theological Union), in Chicago, USA.
