The Dicastery for Communication (Latin: Dicasterium pro Communicatione, Italian: Dicastero per la Comunicazione) is a department (dicastery) of the Roman Curia with authority over all communication offices of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Its various offices can be accessed through its website. These are the Pope's website and other offices such as Vatican News on the internet (including the former Vatican Media Center that distributes segments for television), the Holy See Press Office, L'Osservatore Romano newspaper, the Photograph Service, Vatican Radio, Vatican Press, and the Vatican Publishing House. The Pontifical Council for Social Communications has been subsumed into this new dicastery.
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History
Pope Francis established the Secretariat for Communication in June 2015, with Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, former director of the Vatican Television Center, as its first prefect. Viganò resigned on 21 March 2018, "a week after his mishandling of a letter from retired Pope Benedict XVI provoked a global outcry".
On 23 June 2018, the secretariat was renamed as the Dicastery for Communication, and on 5 July 2018, Pope Francis appointed award-winning lay journalist Paolo Ruffini as prefect. He was the first layman named to head a Vatican dicastery. Ruffini also chairs the Commission for Information of the Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
Monsignor Lucio Adrian Ruiz, former head of the Vatican Internet Service, is Secretary of the Dicastery and Paul Nusiner, former General Manager of Avvenire, is Director General.
On 2 June 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed Montse Alvarado, President and COO of EWTN News, as Prefect effective 1 November 2026. This made her the first woman to be the head of this Dicastery, and the first non-religious woman appointed Prefect of any dicastery of the Holy See.
Members
On 13 July 2016, Pope Francis appointed the following as members of the Secretariat for Communication:
Patriarch Moran Mor Béchara Boutros Raï
Cardinal John Njue
Cardinal Chibly Langlois
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri
Cardinal Beniamino Stella
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin
Archbishop Gintaras Grušas
Bishop Marcello Semeraro
Bishop Stanislas Lalanne
Bishop Pierre Nguyễn Văn Khảm
Bishop Ginés Ramón García Beltrán
Bishop Nuno Brás da Silva Martins
Alessandro Elia
Kim Daniels
Markus Schächter
Leticia Soberón Mainero
On 12 April 2017, Pope Francis expanded the Secretariat for Communication and appointed 13 new consultants:
Jacquineau Azétsop, S.J.
Fernando Giménez Barriocanal
Ann Carter
Dino Cataldo Dell'Accio