Vatican Breaks Tradition, Names First Laywoman as Communications Chief

The Vatican has broken a longstanding leadership tradition with the appointment of Mexican-American media executive Maria Alvarado as head of its communications department, making her the first woman without religious vows and the first non-Italian to occupy the position.

Alvarado, 39, will take charge this week, overseeing the Vatican’s television, radio and print operations alongside its press office.

Pope Leo XIV announced her appointment in June, marking a notable development in a Church leadership structure where women have historically held senior roles mainly through religious orders.

Known popularly as Montse, Alvarado said she was appointed directly by the pontiff rather than selected through a conventional recruitment process.

“I didn’t apply; I wasn’t chosen” through a standard application process, she told EWTN News, where she has been president and chief operating officer since 2023.

“It was an appointment from the Holy Father,” she said.

EWTN News operates as the news division of the Eternal Word Television Network, the largest Catholic television network in the United States. Established by a nun, the network has become a prominent voice among conservative Catholics.

Its relationship with the Vatican, however, has not always been smooth, particularly under Pope Francis, whose reform programme faced opposition from conservative sections of the Church.

In 2021, Francis appeared to take aim at the network, complaining about what he described as a major Catholic television channel that was constantly criticising the Pope. Alvarado was then working as a presenter at EWTN.

Born in Mexico, Alvarado moved to the United States during childhood and grew up in Miami before relocating to Washington for her education.

She worked for 14 years with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit law firm focused on defending religious freedom, before becoming head of EWTN News in 2023.

During her time at the organisation, she managed international media platforms delivering content in seven languages across television, print, radio, digital media and social networks.

Despite her impressive media career, Alvarado said she had not initially imagined working in communications, noting that her original aspiration was to marry and raise children.

She was previously married, but the Catholic Church later annulled the marriage.

Alvarado replaces Paolo Ruffini, 70, who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2018 and made history as the first layperson to lead a Vatican dicastery, an institution comparable to a government ministry.

Lucetta Scaraffia, founder of the Vatican women’s magazine Women Church World and a history professor at Rome’s La Sapienza University, said Alvarado’s appointment reflected her professional abilities.

“This is a woman who has been chosen for her skills and her qualities,” Scaraffia told AFP.

Scaraffia said Alvarado’s emergence as the first non-Italian communications chief could bring fresh perspectives and a more international outlook to the Vatican’s media operations.

She described the new communications chief as a highly skilled manager whose career advancement was driven by professional experience.

According to Scaraffia, the appointment also signals that Pope Leo may have a different approach to women in leadership positions within the Catholic Church.

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