Vatican names first laywoman to head communications.
Alvarado, who assumes office this week, will oversee the Vatican’s television, radio and print operations, and its press office.
Her appointment, announced in June by […] The post Vatican names first laywoman to head communications appeared first on Vanguard News .
The Vatican has appointed 39-year-old Mexican-American media executive, Maria Alvarado, as its new head of communications, making her the first laywoman and first non-Italian to lead the department.
Her appointment, announced in June by Pope Leo XIV, marks a significant development in the Church’s leadership structure, where senior positions traditionally held by women have largely been occupied by nuns. Alvarado, popularly known as Montse, said her appointment came directly from the Pope rather than through a conventional recruitment process. “I didn’t apply; I wasn’t chosen” through a standard application process, she said in an interview with EWTN News, where she has served as president and chief operating officer since 2023. “It was an appointment from the Holy Father,” she added.
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