Pope Leo XIV on Thursday appointed 12 new members to the Dicastery for Communication, including three Filipino bishops.
The department’s members include five cardinals, among them Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization’s Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches.
It also includes two archbishops, among them Ryan Jimenez of Agaña in Guam, president of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (CEPAC), and three bishops, including Marcelino Antonio Maralit Jr of San Pablo.
Maralit chairs the Office of Social Communication of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences and previously led the Episcopal Commission on Social Communications of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
The dicastery has been led since 2018 by Dr. Paolo Ruffini, the first layperson appointed prefect of a Roman Curia department. Msgr. Lucio Adrián Ruiz serves as secretary.
The Dicastery for Communication oversees the Vatican’s entire communications network, coordinating and unifying the Holy See’s media operations while respecting their distinct functions.
It also develops the theological and pastoral dimensions of the Church’s work in communications, alongside its operational responsibilities.
The dicastery is also known as the Vatican’s largest department by personnel.
Since 2019, all Vatican media operations have been integrated under a single structure, including a central news hub, television, radio, daily newspaper, printing press, publishing house, photographic service and the Holy See Press Office.
