EWTN News boss named first lay woman Prefect of Vatican communications dicastery

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Maria Montserrat Alvarado, President and Chief Operating Officer of EWTN News, as Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, in a landmark decision that further advances lay leadership in the governance of the Roman Curia.

The appointment, announced by the Holy See, takes effect on 1 November 2026. Alvarado will become the first non-religious woman to head a Vatican dicastery, marking a historic milestone in the Church’s ongoing communications reform.

Born in Mexico City, Alvarado studied at Florida International University and George Washington University. She spent more than a decade, from 2009 to 2023, in senior leadership roles at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, where she worked on initiatives defending religious freedom and promoting human dignity.

Since 2023, she has led EWTN News as President and COO, overseeing a global Catholic media operation producing content in seven languages across television, radio, print, digital, and social platforms under the wider EWTN network.

Her appointment comes as Pope Leo XIV continues the reform trajectory of the Roman Curia, which has increasingly entrusted leadership roles to lay faithful, both men and women, in service of the universal Church.

The Dicastery for Communication, established by Pope Francis on 27 June 2015, oversees the Holy See’s media institutions, including Vatican News, Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican Media, the Holy See Press Office, and related publishing and audiovisual services. It also carries the mandate of strengthening the Church’s theological and pastoral engagement in communication.

Alvarado succeeds Paolo Ruffini, who was appointed in 2018 as the first lay Prefect of the Dicastery. He will reach retirement age in October 2026.

In her response to the appointment, Alvarado said “While this appointment was unexpected, I receive it with a sincere desire to serve the Holy Father as he begins his pontificate. And 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.”