Greg Burke, an American, succeeds Italian Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, who is retiring after 10 years in the position.

Mr Burke is a numerary member of Opus Dei.

He served as special communications adviser in the Vatican's Secretariat of State, starting in 2012.

In December, 2015, Pope Francis appointed him the vice director of the press office.

A graduate of Columbia University's school of journalism, Mr Burke spent 24 of the past 28 years as a Rome-based journalist.

This was with the National Catholic Register, Time magazine and the Fox News network.

Spanish journalist Paloma Garcia Ovejero fills in Mr Burke's spot as vice director at the Vatican press office.

She is the first female to hold that position.

Mr Burke that in choosing an American and a Spanish journalist, the Pope has made "an important sign of internationalisation" in order to reach out to Catholics across the globe.

Ms Garcia Ovejero, who studied journalism in Spain and earned a masters degree in Management Strategies and Communications at New York University, worked as the Italy and Vatican correspondent for Spanish radio broadcaster Cadena COPE.

"For me it's an honour, it's a service and it's another way of serving the Church," she said.

"But it is the same Church and, in some way, the same type of work: to proclaim the good news and to transmit faithfully and with dignity the Pope's message," Ms Garcia Ovejero said.

She downplayed her role as the first female vice director of the press office.

She said saying that the first women who served the Church "were the ones who found the empty tomb and proclaimed the Resurrection to the apostles".

"I am in no way the first woman. The first woman above all in the Church, in the Vatican and in the press office is the Virgin Mary," she said.

Sources

• Catholic News Service
• Image: America

In a feature story published in National Geographic, Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, was asked how he felt about Francis.

Fr Lombardi reportedly smiled and responded with one word: "Confused."

The Jesuit said Benedict would emerge from a meeting with a world leader and would rattle off a precise summation.

"It was incredible. Benedict was so clear. He would say, ‘We have spoken about these things, I agree with these points, I would argue against these other points, the objective of our next meeting will be this'—two minutes and I'm totally clear about what the contents were. With Francis—‘This is a wise man; he has had these interesting experiences'."

Fr Lombardi chuckled and continued: "Diplomacy for Francis is not so much about strategy but instead, ‘I have met this person, we now have a personal relation, let us now do good for the people and for the Church.'"

"No one knows all of what he's doing," Fr Lombardi said.

"His personal secretary doesn't even know. I have to call around: One person knows one part of his schedule, someone else knows another part."

The Vatican's communications chief shrugged and observed: "This is the life."

Elsewhere in the National Geographic article, Franciscan friar Fr Ramiro de la Serna said he believed the world has not seen the "real changes" from Francis.

Buenos Aires-based Fr de la Serna, who has known Francis for 30 years, added: ""And I also believe we haven't seen the real resistance yet either."

"He won't change doctrine," Fr de la Serna said.

"What he will do is return the Church to its true doctrine—the one it has forgotten, the one that puts man back in the centre.

"For too long, the Church put sin in the centre.

"By putting the suffering of man, and his relationship with God, back in the centre, these harsh attitudes toward homosexuality, divorce, and other things will start to change."

Sources

• National Geographic
• Image: Reuters