Pope Leo XIV is seen smiling and gesturing with hands clasped as he arrives for a general audience, with an overlay showing Maria Montserrat Alvarado of EWTN News holding a microphone in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo named an executive with US Catholic media conglomerate EWTN as the new head of the Vatican’s communications department on Tuesday, in the first appointment of a woman to the senior Church role.
Maria Montserrat Alvarado, originally from Mexico City, will lead the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communications, a sprawling operation that oversees the Vatican’s news portal, radio station, newspaper and press office, among other entities.
Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News since 2023, will replace Paolo Ruffini, who has been in the role since 2018 and is retiring.
Pope Leo XIV gestures as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
Maria Montserrat Alvarado, president and COO of EWTN News, poses for a portrait before a live broadcast near St.Peter’s Square at the Vatican, in Rome, Italy, on May 1, 2025. REUTERS
She will start her duties in November, said a statement.
The Eternal Word Television Network was launched by a nun named Mother Angelica in 1981, but has grown into a global media conglomerate with nearly a dozen TV stations, a book publishing division, a newspaper and radio affiliate.
The station often appeals to conservative US Catholics.
President Donald Trump has appeared on the network several times and one of its top hosts is a Fox News contributor.
The network was an occasional critic of the late Pope Francis, who complained about it “bad-mouthing” him.