Pope Leo XIV has named Maria Montserrat “Montse” Alvarado, the current president and COO of US-based Catholic media giant EWTN News, to lead the Vatican’s communication office, the Vatican announced Tuesday. Just under 40, Alvarado will be the youngest person to lead a Vatican dicastery in recent memory and the first woman who is not a religious sister to be a Vatican prefect, a task historically reserved for cardinals.
Alvarado began hosting EWTN News in Depth in early 2021, several months before Pope Francis criticized “a large Catholic television channel,” widely believed to be EWTN, for “continually speaking ill of the pope” and attacking the church. She became president and chief operating officer in 2023.
However, church observers say she has never been part of the anti-Francis wing of the church, and her allies praise her leadership expertise and dedication.
