Pope Leo XIV has appointed Maria Montserrat Alvarado, a Mexican-American media executive, to lead the Vatican’s communications department, marking a significant step in his efforts to overhaul the Holy See’s messaging.

Alvarado, currently president of the Catholic media conglomerate EWTN News, will assume the role of prefect of the Dicastery of Communications. This powerful office oversees the Vatican’s extensive media operations, including television, radio, online platforms, publishing, and its newspaper, and commands one of the Holy See’s largest budgets.

Her appointment is notable as she is both a layperson and a woman, aligning with a trend set by Pope Francis, who elevated several women to leadership roles within the male-dominated Vatican hierarchy.

The Chicago-born Leo has expressed a desire to reform how the Catholic Church and the Vatican communicate globally. He has convened cardinals for a meeting later this month to “reassess the effectiveness of ecclesial communication, including at the level of the Holy See, from a more explicitly missionary perspective,” among other topics.

Alvarado’s background includes her current role as president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, described as the world’s largest Catholic media organization.

Its Washington, D.C., operations span television, radio, online, and publishing in seven languages. The EWTN family, known for its generally conservative stance, includes outlets like the Catholic News Agency and National Catholic Register. Before joining EWTN as a news anchor, Alvarado held leadership positions at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, an organization involved in church-state legal battles in the U.S.

This appointment comes with a notable historical backdrop: during Pope Francis’s pontificate, EWTN’s programming frequently featured English-speaking critics of the Argentine pope. In 2021, Francis publicly condemned such media criticism as “the work of the devil,” comments widely understood to be aimed at EWTN.