Pope Leon XIV appoints María Montserrat Alvaró as Vatican's first female lay head of communications

Pope Leon XIV met privately with Mexican lawyer María Montserrat Alvaró, who has been appointed Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication. The appointment makes Alvaró the first woman and layperson to lead one of the Holy See’s major dicasteries.

Alvaró, a former operations director of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and head of EWTN News, will assume the role on 1 November. She will oversee the Vatican’s media outlets, coordinate the Pope’s messages, and manage relations with the international press. The meeting, held on 3 August, included a review of global religious‑freedom data and signaled the Vatican’s intent to integrate civil‑society expertise into its diplomatic and communication strategies.