Pope Francis has appointed Sister Helen Alford as the new President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Holy See Press Office reported on Saturday.

Sister Alford, who serves as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, Italy, succeeds economist Stefano Zamagni, who has held the position since March 2019.

According to Vatican News, Sister Alford is a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena in Newcastle, UK. She graduated in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and obtained a Ph.D. Additionally, much of her academic career has been spent at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas as a full professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences and as Vice-Rector of the university.

Sister Alford is also an international expert in Business Ethics and has taught courses on economic ethics and the history of Christian social thought at various universities. She also serves on the scientific councils of various scientific journals.

Since 2020, she has been an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and has served as a consultant for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.