Alessandra Smerilli

Alessandra Smerilli, FMA is an Italian Catholic economist, academic, and religious sister who has served as the Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the Roman Curia since August 2021. She was the first woman to be appointed secretary of a dicastery, the second most senior official of a Curia department after the prefect, which made her the highest-ranking woman in the Roman Curia at the time. She was appointed prefect in June 2026, effective in September.