Maria Montserrat Alvarado Becomes First Woman to Lead Vatican Communications Department

Maria Montserrat Alvarado, 39, has been named head of the Vatican’s media department, the first woman to hold the post. According to Agence France-Presse, she is also the first non-Italian to lead it. The department oversees the Vatican’s television, radio, print and publishing services, as well as the Holy See Press Office. The Holy See announced the appointment last June.

Alvarado was born in Mexico and moved with her family to the United States as a child. She grew up in Miami and later studied in Washington. Before entering media work, she spent 14 years with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit law firm that defends religious freedom. Since 2023, she has been the top director of EWTN News, the network that the source describes as the largest Catholic television network in the United States. EWTN News produces content in seven languages across television, print, radio, digital media and social networks. Alvarado will succeed Rufini, the current head of the department.

Analysts quoted in the report said Pope Leo XIV has given a prominent role to women with professional backgrounds, which they described as a different approach from his predecessors. The source notes that women who previously held senior Vatican posts were often nuns.

In an interview, Alvarado said, “I did not apply, I was elected.” She said the appointment did not follow the standard selection process, and that the Pope made the appointment himself. The source reports that the relationship between EWTN and the Holy See has not always been smooth. Some of the network’s programs criticized the late Pope Francis, whom the source describes as a Catholic leader who worked to reform the Church. The source adds that this criticism contributed to a lack of tolerance within the Church, particularly in the United States. Relations between institutions can be strained, and the report suggests that the new appointment comes against that background (Romans 12:18).

Alvarado has said that she had not planned a career in media or broadcasting and that her greatest wish had always been to marry and have children. The source reports that she was married and later divorced, and that the Catholic Church declared the marriage invalid.

The founder of Women Church World, a monthly magazine published by the Holy See for women, told Agence France-Presse that Alvarado was chosen for her professional competence and personality. The founder described her as an accomplished broadcast manager and said the appointment shows that the Pope sees women differently.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Mandarin Chinese)