Pope Leo has appointed Maria Montserrat Alvarado to head the Vatican’s communications department, making her the first lay woman to lead a major dicastery within the governance structure of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the Catholic Church, a "lay woman" means a woman who is not a member of the clergy and does not belong to a religious order.
Alvarado, currently President and Chief Operating Officer of US-based Catholic media network EWTN News, will assume the role on November 1, succeeding Paolo Ruffini, who is retiring after leading the department since its creation in 2015.
The Dicastery for Communication oversees the Vatican’s media operations, including Vatican News, Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano newspaper, the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican Publishing House and its film and photographic archives.
Born in Mexico City and a US citizen since 2008, Alvarado's appointment marks a significant milestone in the Vatican’s efforts to expand the role of women in senior leadership positions. According to Vatican News, she is the first non-religious woman to be appointed prefect of a Vatican dicastery.
In a statement, Alvarado described the appointment as “unexpected” and said she accepted it with “a sincere desire to serve the Holy Father as he begins his pontificate”.
She also paid tribute to her predecessor, saying she was grateful to Ruffini for his leadership and looked forward to continuing the work of strengthening the dicastery’s mission to communicate the Church’s message globally.
The appointment is seen as a continuation of reforms initiated by Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, who sought to increase female representation within the Vatican hierarchy during his 12-year papacy. Francis appointed several women, including nuns Raffaella Petrini and Simona Brambilla, to senior governance roles while repeatedly calling for greater inclusion of women in Church leadership.
Francis also modernised the Vatican’s communications strategy, making its messaging more accessible and less formal. Pope Leo has signalled his intention to continue evaluating and strengthening the Church’s communications efforts, recently calling on cardinals to reassess the effectiveness of ecclesiastical communication from a more mission-oriented perspective.
Before becoming president of EWTN News in 2023, Alvarado served as a news anchor and held various leadership roles within the organisation. Her appointment comes at a time when the Vatican is increasingly focused on how it communicates with global audiences amid rapid changes in media consumption and digital engagement.
