Women leaders in the Catholic Church: new appointments in Mexico and the Vatican, Digi Mart USA News: Religious women and lay women are taking on senior responsibilities in the Catholic Church. The appointments of Montserrat Alvarado and Leidy Saray Montiel Montes highlight women’s participation in church communication, a mission rooted in the Gospel and in the first disciples of Jesus.
Women’s presence in positions of responsibility within the Catholic Church is gaining attention with new appointments at the Holy See and within church structures in Mexico. Religious and lay women, with professional training, pastoral experience and missionary careers, have been called to strategic roles in areas such as evangelization, communication, integral human development and consecrated life.
These appointments recognize women’s contribution to the Church’s mission and recall that their participation is not new. From the earliest times of Christianity, women accompanied Jesus, announced his Resurrection and helped pass on the faith.
Women’s participation in the life of the Church has its roots in the Gospel. During his public ministry, Jesus was accompanied by women who followed, served and collaborated in his mission.
Among them were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and other disciples who supported Jesus and the Twelve with their resources (Lk 8:1-3).
One of the most significant witnesses is Mary Magdalene, recognized by Church tradition as the apostle to the apostles because she was the first to announce the Resurrection of Christ to the disciples.
The Gospel of John relates that Mary Magdalene remained by the tomb and, after meeting the risen Jesus, received from him the mission of telling his brothers that he was alive: “I have seen the Lord” (Jn 20:18).
Women who accompanied Jesus to the cross and those who went to the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week were also present. Their faithfulness made them fundamental witnesses to the central event of the Christian faith: the Resurrection.
This Gospel witness reminds us that women have played a fundamental role in the history of salvation and in the mission of evangelization. Through different vocations and charisms, they have contributed to community life, education, charity, the transmission of the faith and the proclamation of the Gospel.
Among the recent appointments is that of María Montserrat Alvarado, a Mexican journalist with U.S. citizenship, who assumed the prefecture of the Dicastery for Communication on November 1, 2026, replacing Paolo Ruffini.
Alvarado, who previously served as president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, became the first lay woman to lead this Holy See body.
In this role, she coordinates important church media and communication platforms, including Vatican News, Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano and Vatican Media.
Her appointment represents a significant development for lay women’s participation in the governing structures of the universal Church, particularly in an area fundamental to bringing the Gospel message to new generations and contemporary society.
In Mexico, the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM) announced on November 3, 2026, the appointment of Leidy Saray Montiel Montes as the new director of the Department of Communication and Press.
A graduate in Communication Sciences and Journalism from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Montiel has experience in institutional and pastoral communication. She previously headed pastoral communication for the Archdiocese of Mexico, where she developed digital communication strategies.
Challenges in her new assignment include strengthening the communication of the Mexican Church, bringing the bishops’ message to society and preparing coverage of major church events, such as the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Mexico, scheduled for 2027.
Her appointment represents an opportunity to strengthen ecclesial communication, dialogue with society and the proclamation of the Gospel in new digital spaces.
Women’s presence in leadership positions is also reflected in other Vatican bodies.
Sister Alessandra Smerilli, a Salesian religious and Italian economist, assumed the prefecture of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development. In this role she helps lead a body dedicated to issues such as the defense of human dignity, migration, social justice, care for creation and the development of peoples.
Sister Simona Brambilla, a Consolata missionary, has served since January 2025 as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. She became the first woman to lead a dicastery of the Roman Curia.
Sister Raffaella Petrini, of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, has presided since March 2025 over the Governorate of Vatican City State, becoming the first woman to hold this executive responsibility.
Also among these appointments is Nina Benedikta Krapić, a Croatian religious sister named deputy director of the Holy See Press Office in February 2026.
These appointments fall within the renewal of the Roman Curia promoted by Pope Francis through the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, which opened greater possibilities for lay and consecrated men and women to assume governing responsibilities in various Vatican bodies.
Pope Leo XIV has continued this path, bringing women with academic training, pastoral experience, missionary careers and professional expertise into strategic areas of the Church.
Beyond titles and institutional responsibilities, these appointments recognize the diversity of charisms, vocations and services that women offer the ecclesial community.
The story of Mary Magdalene and the women who followed Jesus recalls that the proclamation of the Gospel was also entrusted to women from the earliest days of Christianity. Today, religious women and lay faithful continue that mission from different responsibilities, placing their talents and vocations at the service of a Church called to evangelize, accompany and bring hope to the world.
Their presence in these spaces affirms that the mission of evangelization is the responsibility of the whole People of God and that women’s participation, through their different vocations and charisms, is a fundamental contribution to the Church’s response to the challenges of the modern world.
