MANILA — Pope Francis has named Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila to the Vatican department that helps choose new bishops, according to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.

The Dicastery for Bishops is Advincula's second appointment to a Vatican office since he was installed as cardinal 2 years ago, the CBCP said.

The pope in December 2020 appointed the Capiz native to the Congregation for the Clergy.

Advincula took the helm of the Archdiocese of Manila in June 2021, the 6th Filipino to assume the position. He succeeded Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who left the Philippines in 2020 to head the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Members of the Dicastery for Bishops weigh in on potential candidates for bishops and provide recommendations for the pope.

• In first, Pope names 3 women to Dicastery for Bishops

The pope's appointments on Wednesday also include 2 nuns and a laywoman, the first time women have been allowed to serve on the body.

The new members of the dicastery are the following:

• Cardinal Anders Arborelius, OCD, Bishop of Stockholm (Sweden)
• Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church
• Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops
• Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
• Cardinal-elect Lazzaro You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy
• Cardinal-elect Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille (France)
• Cardinal-elect Oscar Cantoni, Bishop of Como (Italy)
• Archbishop Dražen Kutleša, Archbishop of Split-Makarska (Croatia)
• Bishop Paul Desmond Tighe, Secretary of the former Pontifical Council for Culture
• Father Dom Donato Ogliari , OSB, Abbot of the Abbey of San Paolo fuori le Mura and Apostolic Administrator of the Territorial Abbey of Montecassino (Italy)
• Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State
• Sister Yvonne Reungoat, FMA, former Superior General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
• Dr. Maria Lia Zervino, President of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations

The appointments of Petrini, Reungoat, and Zervino come as Francis seeks to usher in more gender equality within the Church's positions of government and responsibility.

The 85-year-old pope has repeatedly said that women should play greater roles within the Vatican's hierarchy and has broken centuries of precedent to place women in some key spots previously held by men.

The Roman Curia's new constitution that came into effect last month – Francis' years-long effort to restructure the Vatican's powerful governing body – allows female Catholics to head Vatican departments.

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—With a report from Agence France-Presse