A new era has begun in the field of Vatican communications, as EWTN’s president and chief operating officer Maria Montserrat Alvarado has been appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.
The appointment, made by Pope Leo XIV, was announced in the June 2 daily press bulletin and ushers in a decidedly fresh face to the most public-facing of the Vatican’s offices. She will take office on November 5 this year.
Alvarado has served as president and chief operating officer of the Catholic media giant EWTN since 2023. In that time the network has undergone a wide-ranging expansion of its offerings, alongside streamlining the many affiliated news-media networks it operates. She also served as the original host of the network’s EWTN News in Depth programme. Prior to her time at EWTN, Alvarado spent 14 years in a number of leadership positions at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington, DC, including six years as chief operating officer and executive director.
