Pope Leo XIV introduced the Vatican’s new communications chief on Friday, praising her experience, creativity and “liveliness,” in a sign that a new and informal style might guide a crucial area of the Holy See’s mission that has often come under criticism.

María Montserrat Alvarado, the Mexican-American former head of the Washington, D.C.-based EWTN Catholic broadcasting empire, took over as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communications on Nov. 1, succeeding Paolo Ruffini.

Alvarado is the first woman to lead the office, one of the largest and costliest parts of the Holy See bureaucracy.…