The next Synod on Synodality will take place in two final stages, in October this year and in October 2024. Until now, women, religious or laity, could be "auditors" or collaborators in various functions, and intervene during the assembly.
But at the time of voting they had no voice or vote. The first breach in the dike had actually opened in early 2021, when Francis appointed a nun, Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the Synod.