Dott.ssa Flaminia Giovanelli attended l’Ecole Européenne de Bruxelles (1964/1965) and earned a degree in Political Science from the Università degli Studi of Rome (La Sapienza) in 1969.  Subsequently, she earned degrees in Library Science from the Scuola di Biblioteconomia of the Vatican Apostolic Library (1972/1973), and in Religious Studies from the Pontificia Università Gregoriana (1985/1986).  In 2014, she received a doctorate in “Humane Letters” from DeSales University.  She was awarded the Líderes Católicos Prize by the Academia de Líderes Católicos de Chile in 2018.

Since 1974, Dott.ssa Giovanelli has worked at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Dicastery of the Holy See, first as an Official; as Aiutante di Studio (1993-2010) following the themes related to development, poverty, and labour in the context of the social doctrine of the Church; and was appointed by Pope Benedict as Under-Secretary in 2010.  In July 2017, she was appointed by Pope Francis as Under-Secretary of the new Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, a position she held until she retired at the end of August 2018.

In her many years in the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Dott.ssa Flaminia Giovanelli has followed the activities of international organizations, such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Council of Europe on the themes related to poverty and social cohesion, the European Union, the Economic and Social Committee of the United Nations, and the Economic Commission for Europe.  She has participated and followed closely the activities of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe, of the Bishops’ Social Commissions, and the National Commissions of Justice and Peace of Europe and of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE).  She was a member of the Joint Working Group (2006-2012), which is the contact group between the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches, and served as a member of the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia (2015-2018).

Dott.ssa Giovanelli has organized various conferences on behalf of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, including most recently: The University and the Social Doctrine of the Church, in collaboration with the Congregation for Catholic Education (Nov. 2006); The Second World Congress of Ecclesial Organizations Working for Justice and Peace (Nov. 2007); the Seminar entitled Politics: a demanding form of charity (June 2008); the Seminar of Experts prior to the Doha Conference on Financing for Development (Nov. 2008).  Dott.ssa Giovanelli also oversaw the publication of the Informative Note following that Seminary entitled A New International Pact (Nov. 18, 2009); finally, the Conference entitled Life, Family, and Development: The Role of Women in the Promotion of Human Rights (March 2009). Dott.ssa Giovanelli is particularly known for welcoming the many individuals and groups, primarily from Europe, who visit the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Since 2011, she has been President of the non-profit organization O’Viveiro Onlus, which works in favor of poor girls in Chitima (Tete), Mozambique.  In addition, she has been a member of the Niwano Peace Prize Committee of the Niwano Peace Foundation since 2018.

Her numerous publications can be found in La Società, the Bulletin of the Cardinal Van Thuân International Observatory on the Social Doctrine of the Church, as well as in L’Osservatore Romano.  She presented numerous works, during Congresses and Conferences around the world, and has published five children’s books including a work entitled La stella racconta. Una storia d’amore, in rima e colore (Edizioni Cantagalli, 2009), illustrated by Paola Bevicini, a collection of short stories for children explaining the mystery of Christmas.

She is fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, and English.