The Holy See Press Office (Latin: Sala Stampa Sanctae Sedis; Italian: Sala Stampa della Santa Sede) publishes the official news of the activities of the Pope and of the various departments of the Roman Curia. All speeches, messages, documents, as well as the statements issued by the Director, are published in their entirety.
Role
edit
The press office operates every day in Italian, although texts in other languages are also available.
On Saturday 27 June 2015 Pope Francis, through an apostolic letter issued motu proprio ("on his own initiative") established the Secretariat for Communications in the Roman Curia; the Press Office was incorporated into it, but at the same time belongs to the Secretary of State.[1] On 21 December 2015 Pope Francis appointed Dr. Greg Burke, formerly the Communications Advisor for the Section for General Affairs of the Vatican's Secretariat of State of the Holy See (a key department in the Roman Curia), as Deputy Director of the Press Office.[2]
Following Burke's appointment as director in 2016, Spanish journalist Paloma García Ovejero took over as vice director, making her the first woman to hold that position.[3] It was also announced that both Burke and García Ovejero, both laymen, would later begin their positions on 1 August 2016.[4] On 31 December 2018, both Burke and García Ovejero announced their resignations.[5][6]
In July 2019, Pope Francis named British-born Italian layman Matteo Bruni as Director.[7] Bruni is the first non-journalist to serve in this position.[8] The same month, the Pope appointed Brazilian laywoman Cristiane Murray, who previously served as the Vatican Radio's commentator for papal events and international trips for 25 years, as Vice Director.[7][9]
Directors
edit| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) |
Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||
| 1 | .jpg)
|
Angelo Fausto Vallainc (1916–1986) |
19 October 1966 | 4 July 1970 | 3 years, 258 days |
| 2 | Federico Alessandrini (1905–1983) |
11 July 1970 | 3 June 1976 | 5 years, 328 days | |
| 3 | .jpg)
|
Romeo Panciroli (1923–2006) |
3 June 1976 | 5 September 1977 | 1 year, 94 days |
| 5 September 1977 | 4 November 1984 | 7 years, 60 days | |||
| 4 | .jpg)
|
Joaquín Navarro-Valls (1936–2017) |
6 December 1984 | 11 July 2006 | 21 years, 249 days |
| 5 | 
|
Federico Lombardi (born 1942) |
11 July 2006 | 1 August 2016 | 10 years, 21 days |
| 6 | 
|
Greg Burke (born 1959) |
1 August 2016 | 31 December 2018 | 2 years, 152 days |
| – | 
|
Alessandro Gisotti (born 1974) Acting |
31 December 2018 | 21 July 2019 | 202 days |
| 7 | 
|
Matteo Bruni (born 1976) |
21 July 2019 | Incumbent | 5 years, 121 days |
Vice Directors
edit- Ciro Benedettini (unknown, 2012, unknown)
- Paloma García Ovejero (2016–2018)
- Cristiane Murray (2019–present)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Apostolic Letter issued 'Motu proprio' by the Supreme Pontiff Francis for the Establishment of the Secretariat for Communication". The Holy See. June 27, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
- ^ "Rinunce e nomine" [Withdrawals and nominations]. Holy See Press Office (in Italian). December 21, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ Arocho Esteves, Junno (July 12, 2016). "U.S. and Spanish journalists will lead Vatican press office". Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ Schneible, Ann (July 11, 2016). "Pope names American as new Vatican spokesperson". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ "Paloma and I have resigned, effective Jan. 1. At this time of transition in Vatican communications, we think it's best the Holy Father is completely free to assemble a new team". Twitter. December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ "International". ABC News. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ a b Inés San Martín (July 18, 2019). "British-born Italian layman appointed new Vatican spokesperson". Cruxnow.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ "For the first time, a non-journalist is Director of the Vatican Press Office". Catholic Herald. July 19, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ Grogan, Courtney. "Pope Francis names vice director of Holy See press office". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved October 15, 2019.