The pontiff made the comments in response to a question by a clergyman during an audience with Rome's parish priests, the Apcom and ANSA agencies said.
Benedict said he would begin a "reflection" on the possibility of giving "institutional" recognition to women after noting that women's "charisma" had always played an important role in the church, the agencies said.
He mentioned Mother Teresa and Saint Catherine of Siena, among others. Mother Teresa started her international order in the Indian city of Calcutta in 1950 and became a global icon of humanitarian causes before her death in 1997. Saint Catherine, who lived in the 14th century, cared for the sick, was consulted by the Vatican about the affairs of the Church and effected the pope's return from Avignon, France.
Benedict did not say what type of institutional roles he had in mind.
His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, unequivocally backed a men-only priesthood, and argued that Jesus chose men to be his apostles.
But in one of the few concessions to the liberal wing, the late pontiff formally permitted women to serve at the altar, approving a practice that was already widespread in the United States and western Europe.
