Dr. Helen Osman, president of SIGNIS, and Philippines Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle join 10 others appointed by Pope Leo XIV to the department that oversees all communication efforts of the Holy See.
On April 9, the Holy See Press Office issued a bulletin naming Pope Leo's new appointees to the Dicastery for Communication. This dicastery, created by Pope Francis in June 2015, brings together the wide-ranging communications offices and ministries of the Holy See under one umbrella. These various efforts include the official website of the Holy See, the Press Office, Vatican News, the daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican Publishing House, Vatican Media, Radio Vaticana Italia, Filmoteca Vaticana, and the oldest of the entities, the Vatican Printing Press (established in 1587). Pope Francis' purpose was to have the Holy See speak to the Church and the world in one voice, employing every medium of communication available and making use of ever-developing technologies, and to promote good communication among all people through efforts like World Communications Day.
The communication dicastery (a term that replaces congregation or commission in describing an administrative division of the Roman Curia) is managed by a team of superiors under the direction of Prefect Paolo Ruffini. Communication employs the largest workforce of any dicastery, and serves to support the communications needs of all Holy See efforts. Members of the dicastery are appointed by the pope, and are assisted in their work by consultors, also papally appointed, from a wide range of geographic areas and fields of expertise.
The "illustrious doctor"
Among this week's appointments is Dr. Helen Osman, a US laywoman with over 30 years of dedication to Church communications on every level from the diocesan to the global. Currently president of the Board of Directors of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communications headquartered in Rome, Osman was first appointed as a consultor to the Dicastery for Communications by Pope Francis in 2022. She began her career as a journalist and first served in diocesan communications in her home diocese of Austin, Texas, beginning in 1984. Later she went on to spend eight years in Washington, D.C., as Director of Communications for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States in 2008, and Pope Francis in 2015, it was Helen Osman who coordinated communications for both papal visits. She has served as president of the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada, and was the recipient of the St. Francis de Sales Award, that organization's highest honor for personal achievement, in 2012.
In an interview with her hometown Missouri newspaper in 2022, Dr. Osman shared what continually draws her to the work of communications -- the need for peace and reconciliation:
“And peace is not the absence of conflict,” Mrs. Osman pointed out. “Peace is WORK! It is going into all of that messiness, and focusing not so much on what divides us, but understanding what unites us.
“That to me is the core of being in communion,” she said. “It’s about listening to each other and figuring out what’s best for the common good.”
Helen Osman lives with her husband, John, in Austin when she is not commuting to Rome. They have four adult children and a dozen grandchildren. On the Dicastery for Communications, she joins two other women -- Sr. Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, and Dr. Leticia Soberón Mainero, a psychologist and communication expert.
There were some smiles when the announcement was issued, as the members are listed formally with honorific titles. Most members are clergy (Most Eminent Cardinals, Most Excellent Monsignors, Reverend Sister), but Osman, who is known for her unpretentious sense of humor, was announced as "the Illustrious Doctor."
Representation from a wider world
Pope Leo's additions to the dicastery demonstrate his commitment to increasing involvement by the representatives of the Global South. Three of the new appointees are Filipino clergymen, including Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for the First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches; Bishop Marcelino Antonio M. Maralit, Bishop of San Pablo (Philippines), President of the Office of Social Communications of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences; and Bishop Ryan Jimenez P., Archbishop of Agaña (Guam), who is from the Philippines.
Other appointees include cardinals from Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Rabat (Morocco), and Goa and Damão (India), and bishops from Kondoa (Tanzania) and Cuzco (Peru).
The Rev. Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap., Preacher of the Papal Household, and two other clergymen who hold positions in relevant dicasteries were also among this week's appointees.
