Montse Alvarado Set as First Laywoman Dicastery Prefect
Her November 1 start makes her the first laywoman to lead the Holy See's communications network.
Maria Montserrat “Montse” Alvarado will take office on November 1 as prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, becoming the first laywoman to serve as prefect of a dicastery of the Holy See. Pope Leo XIV appointed her to the post in June 2026. She succeeds Paolo Ruffini.
As prefect, Alvarado will oversee Vatican News, Vatican Radio, the Holy See Press Office, Vatican Media, the publishing house, the printing press, and related services. The portfolio gathers the principal instruments through which the Holy See informs the faithful and speaks to the wider world.
From EWTN News to the Holy See
Alvarado currently serves as president and chief operating officer of EWTN News. She has credited EWTN, its foundress Mother Angelica, and years of collaboration with the Holy See for preparing her for the responsibility. Among those collaborations she has pointed to events in Indianapolis and work on the launch of an encyclical by Pope Leo XIV.
Reflecting on the appointment, Alvarado described the role as "what I'm called to do." She has emphasized the convergence of digital and traditional communications as central to the mission she will carry in Rome—an integration that now falls under her authority across every outlet of the dicastery.
The nomination was announced in June. On November 1, a little more than four months later, Alvarado will leave her post at EWTN News to assume leadership of the Holy See's communications under the mandate of the Holy Father.