Cristiane Murray (born 1962) is a Brazilian radio journalist who serves as the Vice Director of the

Holy See Press Office The Holy See Press Office (; ) is the press office of the Holy See. It publishes the official news of the activities of the Pope and of the various departments of the Roman Curia. All speeches, messages and documents, as well as the statements ...

. She worked for

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio (; ) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, DRM, medium wave, FM, satellite and the Internet. ...

, within the

Dicastery for Communication The Dicastery for Communication (, ) is a department (dicastery) of the Roman Curia with authority over all communication offices of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Its various offices can be accessed through its website. These are the ...

, providing commentary on papal events and international trips as well as managing and producing content in Portuguese for

Vatican News ''Vatican News'' is the official news portal of the Holy See, serving as a source of information about the activities, pronouncements, and events related to the global Catholic Church and the operations of the Holy See. As a part of the Dicaster ...

' social media platforms. She was appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

as Vice Director of the Holy See Press Office in 2019, becoming the second woman, after Paloma García Ovejero, and the first Latin American woman to serve in this capacity. The appointment has made her one of the most prominent women in

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

leadership.

Early life and education

Murray was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil in 1962. She graduated with a degree in business administration and marketing from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (; PUC-Rio) is a Jesuit, Catholic, pontifical university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the joint responsibility of the Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro and the So ...

Career

Murray joined

, within the

, as a radio journalist in 1995. She worked for Vatican Radio for over twenty-five years, providing live commentary on papal events and international trips. Murray was part of the Brazilian team that broadcast daily programs and produced content for the

, a news portal provided by the

Pontifical Council for Social Communications The Pontifical Council for Social Communications () was a dicastery of the Roman Curia that was suppressed in March 2016 and merged into the Secretariat for Communication (now the Dicastery for Communication). According to '' Pastor bonus'', Po ...

, in Portuguese for their

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, and

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

accounts. From April 2018 to October 2019, she collaborated with Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, the General Secretariat of the

Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church In the Catholic Church, the Synod of Bishops is an influential, global, consultative and advisory body to the pope. It is one of the mechanisms through which Catholic bishops—the most senior ordained members of the Church—communally render ...

, in preparation for the

Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region The Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, commonly referred to as the Amazon synod, met in Rome from 6 to 27 October 2019. Pope Francis announced on 15 October 2017 that a special assembly of the Synod of Bishops would work "to identify new ...

in October 2019. In July 2019

appointed Murray as the Vice Director of the

. She serves under

Matteo Bruni Matteo Bruni (born 23 November 1976) is an Italian-British media professional who serves as director of the Holy See Press Office of the Roman Curia. He was appointed on 18 July 2019 by Pope Francis, succeeding Greg Burke. He is the first non- ...

, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, and assists in directing all content from

Vatican Media Vatican Media, formerly Centro Televisivo Vaticano from 1983 to 2017, is the national broadcaster of the Holy See. It first aired in 1983 and is based in Vatican City. Overview Created in 1983 by Pope John Paul II, Vatican Media has been legal ...

. Murray is the second laywoman to hold a position in the management of the Holy See Press office, after Paloma García Ovejero, and the first Latin American woman to hold a managerial position. The appointment has made her one of the most prominent women to serve in

leadership positions, alongside

Barbara Jatta Barbara Jatta (born 6 October 1962) is an Italian art historian who has been the director of the Vatican Museums since June 2016. Early life and education Jatta has joked that she was born among the smell of solvents. Her mother was a painter an ...

, the director of the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

, and Francesca Di Giovanni, the Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs of the Roman Curia's Section for Relations with States.

Personal life

Murray is married, and has two children. She is fluent in Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, French, and English.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Cristiane Living people 1962 births Brazilian radio journalists Brazilian Roman Catholics 21st-century Brazilian women journalists Members of the Secretariat for Communication Mass media people from Rio de Janeiro (city) Vatican City radio people Vatican City women journalists Vatican City journalists Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro alumni Women officials of the Roman Curia