39-Year-Old Media Executive Becomes First Laywoman to Lead Vatican Ministry

A 39-year-old American woman is set to take the helm of the Vatican's communications department this week.

Maria Montserrat Alvarado, a media executive from Miami, will become the first laywoman to head a Vatican ministry. She is also the first non-Italian to lead the office that oversees all television, radio, print, and press operations for the Holy See.

The appointment was announced in June, though Alvarado described the selection process as unexpected. In a television interview with EWTN News, she stated, "I didn't apply, I wasn't chosen" through a standard application process. Pope Leo XIV, who is U.S.-born, confirmed that the move was "an appointment from the Holy Father."

Alvarado currently serves as the president and chief operating officer of EWTN News. She has held this role since 2023. The network, the largest Catholic television channel in the United States, has a history of friction with the Vatican. Under Pope Francis, the network drew criticism for programs that questioned the Argentine pontiff. In 2021, Francis remarked that a major Catholic television channel was "constantly criticizing the pope" and called such attacks the work of the devil. Alvarado was a presenter on the network at that time.

Before joining EWTN, Alvarado spent 14 years at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit law firm focused on defending religious freedom. She grew up in Miami after arriving in the United States as a child from Mexico. She later moved to Washington, D.C., to study. In interviews, she has noted that her initial ambition was to marry and have children rather than pursue a career in communications. She is currently divorced, and the Church has annulled her previous marriage.

She succeeds Paolo Ruffini, a 70-year-old Italian who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2018. Ruffini was the first layperson to lead a dicastery, the Vatican term for a ministry. Alvarado’s background in international media management positions her to oversee content production in seven languages across various digital and traditional platforms.

Lucetta Scaraffia, a professor of history at La Sapienza University in Rome and founder of the Vatican women's magazine Women Church World, commented on the selection. Scaraffia told AFP that Alvarado was chosen for her skills and qualities. She described Alvarado as a "highly accomplished communications manager" who built her own career. Scaraffia argued that the appointment signals a shift in how the pope views women, noting that previous senior roles were often held by "highly obedient nuns" who were not selected for their professional merits.

Scaraffia added that Alvarado’s background will bring a "much more international" outlook to the position. As the first non-Italian in the role, she "will have another way of dealing with things," the historian said.

The transition marks a change in leadership for a department that manages the Vatican's global media presence. The new director will take charge of the press office and all associated broadcasting operations.

Alvarado begins her new role this week, following the announcement made several months ago by the papal office.