Pope appoints Vatican News journalist as Deputy Director of Press Office

By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis has appointed Vatican Radio’s Brazilian journalist, Cristiane Murray, as Deputy Director of the Holy See Press Office. She will join new Director, Matteo Bruni, whose mandate began on 22 July.

Born in 1962 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Cristiane Murray has a degree in Business Administration and Marketing from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio. She joined Vatican Radio in 1995 and since then has been part of the Brazilian team that broadcasts daily programmes and produces content for the Vatican News Portal in Portuguese, for the Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Reacting to the news of her appointment, Cristiane said she was deeply moved: “For all the journalists and my colleagues at the Dicastery for Communication, this represents an important sign of recognition for our daily work in bringing the message of the Gospel, the Pope and the Church to the world”.

Her personal thanks and the gratitude of all Vatican women, she said, go first of all to Pope Francis for having chosen her for this important task. She is profoundly grateful, she said, also to the Prefect, Paolo Ruffini, to the Editorial Director, Andrea Tornielli, as well as to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops led by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri with whom she has been working for over a year in preparation for the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region.  

“I guarantee my full commitment and my enthusiasm to the Director, Matteo Bruni, and to all the staff of the Press Office, at the service of the Holy See,” she said.

Pride of the Dicastery

Paolo Ruffini noted that with Cristiane Murray’s appointment as Deputy Director of the Holy See Press Office, the managerial staff of the institution is now complete.  He said that “the choice of a woman with roots in Brazil and an open gaze on the world is a testimony of the wish to build a team that knows how to speak to all”.

“I am sure that Cristiane, who has been working in Vatican media for so many years, and whose professionality and humanity have always been appreciated, will make a fundamental contribution of intelligence, sensitivity, historic memory and foresight in the service that we all seek to offer the Church,” he said.

The new Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, expressed his welcome to Cristiane saying that the experience she has gained in years of service to the Church and to the Holy See are extremely valuable assets for this new position.

Andrea Torniellli, the Editorial Director of the Dicastery, also expressed his gratitude for Cristiane’s appointment which, he said, reflects not only recognition for her work at Vatican Radio, but also for her work with the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.