Pope Leo appoints first lay woman to a top position

[S Landreth]

Pope Leo appoints first lay woman to a top position in Vatican

Pope Leo has appointed the first lay woman to a top position in the governance of the Roman Catholic church.

Maria Montserrat Alvarado, who is now president of the US-based Catholic media outlet, EWTN News, will lead the Vatican’s powerful communications department, which was set up by the late Pope Francis in 2015 and oversees the Vatican’s news site as well as its radio station, newspaper, press office, publishing house and film library.

Alvarado, who was born in Mexico City and has been a US citizen since 2008, begins the role on 1 November, replacing Paolo Ruffini, who is retiring, the Vatican said in a statement.

While nuns and lay women have held influential roles within the Roman curia, she is “the first nonreligious woman to be appointed prefect of a dicastery of the Holy See”, according to Vatican News.

In a statement, Alvarado said that while the appointment was “unexpected” she received it “with a sincere desire to serve the Holy Father as he begins his pontificate”.

She added: “I am grateful to Paolo Ruffini for his leadership throughout the last years and look forward to continuing, in friendship and hope, the important work of strengthening the dicastery so it may continue to serve the church in Rome and everywhere to communicate Christ to the world.”

Alvarado’s appointment is a sign that Leo, the first US-born pontiff elected in May last year, is continuing along the path initiated by Francis, who during his 12-year papacy made strides in boosting the female workforce in the Vatican while appointing several lay women into the top echelons of its governance.

In the months before he died, Francis named two nuns – Raffaella Petrini and Simona Brambilla – in top positions while criticising the “chauvinistic mentality” within the Catholic church.

Francis also modernised the Vatican’s communication while making its messaging style less formal and more accessible. Leo has indicated that he too wants to make changes, summoning cardinals to the Vatican in late June for a meeting to “reassess the effectiveness of ecclesial communication, including at the level of the Holy See, from a more explicitly missionary perspective”.

“Even when the church finds herself in a minority, she is called to live with confident courage, as a small flock bringing hope to all, mindful that the aim of mission is not its own survival, but the communication of the love with which God loves the world,” Leo wrote in a letter to his cardinals announcing the meeting.

Alvarado joined EWTN as a news anchor and has been president and chief operating officer since 2023. Francis criticised the network on more than one occasion, in response to some of its programming criticising elements of his papacy.

[S Landreth]

Pope Holds Mass in Madrid, 1.2 Million Christians Attend Ceremony

Pope Leo XIV conducted a mass before more than 1.2 million Christians and believers gathered in Madrid, the capital of Spain, stating that God stands alongside the poor and oppressed.

On Sunday, 7 Jun 2026 GMT+7, over 1.2 million people gathered along the streets of Madrid while Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air mass in the Spanish capital. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia also attended the morning mass.

Pope Leo was on the second day of his visit to Spain, greeting crowds from his moving papal vehicle through Madrid. Devotees waved Spanish and Vatican flags and shouted "Long live the Pope" while some scattered flower petals to welcome him upon arrival at Plaza de Cibeles.

During his sermon, Pope Leo urged the assembled faithful to express their faith by helping others, stating that God "knows and reaches out to the poor, the oppressed, the persecuted, the lonely, and the abandoned."

He further said that religion should not be remembered as "a museum of the past merely for visiting, but as a school of faith applicable to modern life."

Spanish authorities implemented strict security measures for the mass and the subsequent papal procession through central Madrid.

Pope Leo XIV officially began his seven-day visit to Spain the previous Saturday, greeted by large crowds. During a welcoming banquet at the Royal Palace, he praised the Spanish government for its stance against global conflicts and support for migrants.

Late on Saturday, the Pope participated in a prayer service with about 500,000 Christians, mostly youth, near the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium of Real Madrid football club. The ceremony continued into the night.

"Amidst the emptiness of neglect and surrender, before facing the violence of war and deception, you must be the spark to start a new era of humanity," he told the gathered faithful.

This message aligned with his remarks at the Royal Palace banquet, where he praised Spain's commitment to peace and "faithfulness to international law."

Previously, Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez clashed with U.S. President Donald Trump over U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran and the Gaza Strip, insisting Spain would not join any war. Trump strongly criticized him for this stance.