On 6 August 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed new Consultors of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life for the five-year term 2026–2031. Among the new Consultors are six consecrated women, one of them is Sr Patricia Murray CJ. The new consultants will advise the Dicastery which Sr Simona Brambilla MC presides as the first woman to lead a dicastery.
Sr Pat has served as the Executive Secretary for the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) and is now the President and Chair of the Board of The Anna Trust Foundation. She also is part of the Board of advisors of the Discerning Leadership Team.
Reflecting on her appointment, she said: “I am deeply honoured to serve as a consultor and to contribute to the future of consecrated life which is such a blessing for the Church and the world.”
Before extending her ministries to the international level, Sr. Pat studied at the University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, and Catholic Theological Union in Chicago which resulted in several degrees, including a doctor of ministry degree. In that time already, she focussed especially on matters of justice and interculturality. For many years, she worked in education and peace building in Ireland. Later she was the founding executive director of “Solidarity with South Sudan”, fostering the collaboration of more than a hundred religious congregations working to rebuild the educational, medical, agricultural and pastoral infrastructure of the newly independent South Sudan. Pope Francis appointed her as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Culture in 2019.
“The presence of these consecrated women, coming from different geographical, cultural and charismatic contexts, represents a significant contribution to the Church’s reflection on consecrated life. Their diverse experience in leadership, formation, theology, psychology and the accompaniment of religious life will enrich the discernment of the Dicastery”, stated UISG . “Their service is particularly important at a time when consecrated life is called to discern new forms of presence and mission and to respond, with creativity and fidelity to the Gospel, to the transformations taking place within the Church and society.”
You can find the full list of appointments here.
Background:
The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (DICLSAL; Latin: Dicasterium pro Institutis vitae consecratae et Societatibus vitae apostolicae), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia with competency over everything which concerns institutes of consecrated life, i.e. orders and religious congregations of men and of women, secular institutes and societies of apostolic life. They are the point of contact for their government, discipline, studies, goods, rights, and privileges.
