Pope Leo XIV appoints Sister Mary Barron president of Pontifical Mission Societies

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV has appointed Sister Mary Teresa Barron as adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization in the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches, while also entrusting her with leadership of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

According to the Holy See Press Office, the Irish religious sister will assume her new responsibilities on Jan. 4, 2027.

Barron, superior general of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, will take on one of the most significant leadership positions in the Church’s missionary activity. As president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, she will coordinate and promote missionary cooperation among local Churches throughout the world, particularly in regions where the Church is growing and facing significant pastoral challenges.

In 2024, during a press conference following Synod on Synodality discussions, Barron, then president of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), which represents approximately 600,000 religious sisters in 80 countries, addressed the question of women who experience “a call to priesthood.”

While discussion of women deacons is often framed in terms of whether…