Pope Francis amended the Code of Canon Law to allow women to perform more responsibilities during Mass, the Vatican announced on Monday.

“There is nothing new about women proclaiming the Word of God during liturgical celebrations or carrying out a service at the altar as altar servers or as Eucharistic ministers,” wrote Vatican News, a service provided by the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication. “However, up to this point, this has occurred without a true and proper institutional mandates. … Now, in the wake of the discernment which has emerged from the last Synods of Bishops, Pope Francis wanted to formalize and institutionalize the presence of women at the altar.”