Sacred Heart Major Seminary video screengrab / YouTube
CV NEWS FEED // Pope Francis recently appointed Mary Healy, STL, STD, a professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, as one of four new members of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
The Dicastery, headed by British Cardinal Arthur Roche, directly serves the Pope on matters associated with the sacraments and liturgies in the Church. The Dicastery comprises about 25 members, including cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, and lay individuals from around the world.
Healy is a respected expert in biblical interpretation, evangelization, spirituality, and healing ministry, according to a report from Detroit Catholic. Her Jan. 11 appointment marks the first time a layperson from Detroit has been named to a Vatican dicastery, aligning with Pope Francis’ initiative to increase the representation of laity and women in leadership positions.
A successful author and speaker, Healy has published more than a dozen books. She has been a faculty member at Sacred Heart Major Seminary since 2008, teaching Scripture and biblical history to seminarians and lay students.
In 2014, Pope Francis selected Healy as one of the first three women to join the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Additionally, she has worked as a consultor for the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and has engaged with the Pentecostal-Catholic International Dialogue, which operates under the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.
Alongside Healy, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli, Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, and Donna Lynn Orsuto to the Dicastery.
The group’s responsibilities include confirming and translating liturgical texts, ensuring adherence to liturgical norms, promoting sacred music and art, regulating relics, and advising the Pope on sacramental and liturgical practices.
