Pope Leo Appoints First Lay Woman To Top Vatican Position

Pope Leo has appointed Maria Montserrat Alvarado as the new Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, making her the first lay woman to hold such a senior governance position in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Vatican announced that Alvarado, currently president and chief operating officer of the US-based Catholic media network EWTN News, will assume office on November 1, succeeding Paolo Ruffini, who is retiring from service.

The Dicastery for Communication, established by the late Pope Francis in 2015, oversees the Vatican’s news portal, radio station, newspaper, press office, publishing house and film library.

According to Vatican News, Alvarado is “the first nonreligious woman to be appointed prefect of a dicastery of the Holy See.”

Reacting to her appointment, Alvarado described the development as unexpected.

“While the appointment was unexpected, I receive it with a sincere desire to serve the Holy Father as he begins his pontificate,” she said.

She added, “I am grateful to Paolo Ruffini for his leadership throughout the last years and look forward to continuing, in friendship and hope, the important work of strengthening the dicastery so it may continue to serve the church in Rome and everywhere to communicate Christ to the world.”

Alvarado’s appointment is being viewed as a continuation of reforms initiated by the late Pope Francis, who expanded opportunities for women in the Vatican and appointed several lay women to key leadership positions during his 12-year papacy.

Before his death, Francis appointed nuns Raffaella Petrini and Simona Brambilla to top Vatican roles and repeatedly criticised what he described as a “chauvinistic mentality” within the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo, the first US-born pontiff, has also signalled plans to further modernise Vatican communications. In June, he convened cardinals for discussions aimed at evaluating and strengthening the Church’s communication strategy.

In a letter announcing the meeting, Pope Leo wrote: “Even when the church finds herself in a minority, she is called to live with confident courage, as a small flock bringing hope to all, mindful that the aim of mission is not its own survival, but the communication of the love with which God loves the world.”

Born in Mexico City and a US citizen since 2008, Alvarado joined EWTN as a news anchor and has served as its president and chief operating officer since 2023.

Her appointment marks another significant milestone in efforts to expand women’s participation in the leadership structures of the Vatican.