Pope Leo XIV has appointed a Mexican-American media executive, Maria Montserrat Alvarado, to head the Vatican’s communications department, breaking new ground in the Catholic Church’s leadership structure.
The 39-year-old becomes the first woman and first non-Italian to lead the Dicastery for Communication, which oversees the Vatican’s television, radio, print operations and press office.
Alvarado assumed office this week, succeeding Paolo Ruffini, who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2018 as the first layperson to head a Vatican dicastery.
Her appointment is being viewed as a significant shift in the Vatican’s approach to women’s participation in senior leadership positions, traditionally dominated by male clergy and, in a few cases, nuns.
Lucetta Scaraffia, founder of the Vatican women’s magazine, Women Church World, said Alvarado’s appointment reflected her professional abilities and the Pope’s different attitude towards women.
“This is a woman who has been chosen for her skills and her qualities,” she told AFP.
Scaraffia added that Alvarado’s international experience could bring a fresh perspective to the department.
Born in Mexico, Alvarado moved to the United States as a child and grew up in Miami before relocating to Washington for her studies.
She worked for 14 years at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit law firm, before joining the Eternal Word Television Network, where she became president and chief operating officer of EWTN News in 2023.
The network operates television, print, radio and digital platforms, producing content in seven languages.
Alvarado said her appointment came directly from Pope Leo rather than through a conventional recruitment process.
“I didn’t apply; I wasn’t chosen” through a standard application process, she said in an interview with EWTN News.
Her appointment was announced in June, although it came as a surprise to her.
The development marks another step in the growing involvement of laypeople in senior Vatican positions, following Ruffini’s historic appointment under Pope Francis.
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