POPE APPOINTS BRAZILIAN JOURNALIST AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PRESS OFFICE

POPE APPOINTS BRAZILIAN JOURNALIST AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PRESS OFFICE

Pope Francis has named Cristiane Murray as the new deputy director of the Holy See Press Office.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1962, she is married and has two children. Murray graduated 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 programs throughout the country. She has also been in charge of the Vatican News portal in Portuguese, as well as the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube accounts.

Over the last 10 years, Cristiane Murray has devoted particular attention to the commitment of the Church in the Amazon. She participated as a correspondent in several papal trips and in April 2018 began to collaborate with the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops in the preparation of the upcoming synodal assembly for the Pan-Amazonian Region (October 6-27, 2019). She is Portuguese-Italian bilingual, and fluent in English, Spanish and French.

In a statement issued this morning, Murray said: “I accept this appointment with emotion. For journalists and colleagues in the communication department it is a great recognition of our daily work in bringing to the world the Gospel, the message of the Pope and the Church. I first and foremost want to express thanks to the Holy Father – mine and that of all of us, especially women – for having chosen me for this important task. I thank the Prefect, Paolo Ruffini, the Editorial Director, Andrea Tornielli, and the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops led by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, with whom I have worked for over a year for the preparation of the synodal assembly for the Amazon. I guarantee my commitment and my enthusiasm to the press office Director, Matteo Bruni, and to everyone in the press office at the service of the Holy See.”

Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said: “The press office gratefully welcomes the appointment by the Holy Father of Cristiane Murray as deputy director of the Holy See Press Office. I am sure that her professionalism and the experience gained over the years of service to the Church and the Holy See will be extremely valuable in this new position. On behalf of the press office staff, I extend a warm welcome and best wishes for good work.”

Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, also released a statement: “With the Holy Father’s appointment of Cristiane Murray as deputy director of the Holy See Press Office, the fundamental structure of the communication department is completed. The choice of a woman with roots in Brazil and an open view to the world testifies to the desire to build a team that can speak the language of those who listen to us. I am sure that Cristiane, who has been working in the Vatican media for so many years, and whose professionalism and humanity have always been appreciated, will make a fundamental contribution of intelligence, sensitivity, memory and project in the service we all try to offer to the Church.”

An additional statement was released this morning by Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication: “I am grateful to the Holy Father for having chosen the Brazilian colleague Cristiane Murray as vice director of the Holy See Press Office. To date, Cristiane has been an important resource for Radio Vaticana-Vatican News and is alsopreciated by the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops where she served for over a year collaborating in the preparation of the synodal assembly for the Pan-Amazonian Region. Once again, professionalism is recognized within the Vatican media and I am certain that Cristiane’s competency will be invaluable for the work of the Holy See Press Office.” (source: vaticannews.va)