The first lay woman appointed at the Vatican to a position equivalent to that of a minister

Pope Leo XIV appointed for the first time a lay woman, María Montserrat Alvarado, to head a Vatican dicastery, the approximate equivalent of a ministry within the Roman Curia, reports AFP.

Born in Mexico, the current president of the Catholic station EWTN News will take over from November 1 the position of prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, the Vatican announced.

María Montserrat Alvarado, who studied in the United States, “is the first woman who is not a nun to be named prefect of a dicastery of the Holy See,” according to the Vatican statement.

With this appointment, Leo XIV “continues the process of reforms and renewal of the Romanian Curia initiated by Pope Francis”, his predecessor.

The Dicastery for Communication oversees the Vatican's print, radio and television services, which have a worldwide audience.

In early 2025, Pope Francis appointed for the first time a woman, nun Simona Brambilla, to a Vatican “ministry”, a first in the two-millennium history of the Catholic church.

Simona Brambilla took over the leadership of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the “ministry” of the Curia in charge of religious orders and congregations.

The later Sister Raffaella Petrini became, in March 2025, the head of the Vatican City State Governorate.

Pope Francis, who died in April 2025, called for overcoming the “macho mentality” in the heart of the Catholic Church, which does not grant “sufficient positions of responsibility” to nuns. He insisted that they should not be treated like maids.