Vatican: Who is Montse Alvarado, the laywoman appointed by Pope Leo as Prefect of Communications?

Although she is not a lawyer, she has played a public and strategic role in the communication and management of legal campaigns concerning some of the most sensitive issues facing American Catholicism: the contraceptive mandate, the freedom of religious institutions to appoint their own leaders, the freedom of expression of religious groups, and the protection of pro-life centres.

During its 14 years of service at the Be-cket Fund, the team has won 12 cases before the US Supreme Court.

The cases cited include those of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Muslim prisoners on death row, and charitable organisations such as Philadelphia Catholic Social Services.

In 2023, Alvarado was appointed president and chief operating officer of EWTN News (Eternal Word Television Network), taking the helm of the news division of the Catholic network founded by Mother Angelica.

She is responsible for global platforms and publications such as the Catholic News Agency, the National Catholic Register, the ACI Group and ChurchPop. Previously, she was also the founding presenter of EWTN News In Depth, a weekly programme offering analysis of the Church, politics and culture from a Catholic perspective.

EWTN, based in Washington, is the world’s largest Catholic media organisation. ETVN’s 11 global television channels and numerous regional channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to over 400 million television households in more than 160 countries and territories.

ETWN’s platforms also include radio services broadcast via SiriusXM, iHeart Radio and over 600 AM and ; a worldwide shortwave radio service; one of the most visited Catholic websites in the United States; as well as EWTN Publishing, its book publishing division. The broadcaster often caters to conservative Catholics in the United States.

President Donald Trump has appeared on the channel on several occasions, and one of its leading presenters is a Fox News commentator. During Francis’s pontificate, EWTN has frequently given airtime to English-speaking critics of the Argentine pope. In 2021, Francis described such media criticism as “the work of the devil” in comments widely interpreted as directed at EWTN.

As Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Alvarado succeeds another layman, Paolo Ruffini, who was appointed by Bergoglio in 2018.

Among other things, Alvarado said: ‘The Bible has transformed my life. Reading the stories of all the vulnerable people God has used is what helps me.’ And again: “One day you’ll stand before St Peter and give him… what? Your CV? A sheet listing your achievements? He’ll ask you: ‘Who have you brought with you, my dear?’ Jesus himself might ask you: ‘To whom have you spoken of me?’”

And then: ‘You’ll spend the rest of your life working to overcome your selfishness. It’s pointless to think you can eliminate it completely over the next four years. But what you can do is find a balance between these two aspects. Get to know yourself and your talents.’