María Montserrat Alvarado, the first laywoman to head the Vatican’s communications office

María Montserrat Alvarado has been named director of Vatican communications, becoming the first laywoman to hold the role. Her appointment continues efforts to increase women’s representation in senior Church positions and places a journalist with extensive media experience at the head of the office.

Born in Mexico City and raised in Miami, Alvarado, 39, studied political science and political management. She joined EWTN News in 2021, founded and hosted a current-affairs programme, and became the network’s president and director in 2023; before that, she spent 14 years at religious-liberty law firm Becket. Pope Leo XIV appointed her prefect of the Dicastery for Communication in June 2026, succeeding Paolo Ruffini, and she was named director on 1 November.