Pope Leo XIV has invested former SIGNIS World president Helen Osman as a Dame of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester, recognizing her decades of service to Catholic communications.
The investiture took place Sept. 1 at the office of Nataša Govekar, director of the Theological-Pastoral Department of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication.
“I am deeply humbled that the Holy Father would grant me this honor. My goal is always to use the gifts God has given me in service to his Kingdom — may the glory always be for him!” Osman said.
Osman chaired the Board of Directors of SIGNIS World, the World Catholic Association for Communication, for two consecutive terms from 2017 to 2026.
She has more than three decades of experience in communications and has served in leadership roles in Church and Catholic media institutions.
Pope Francis appointed Osman a consultor to what was then the Dicastery for Communication in 2022. Pope Leo named her a member of the dicastery on April 9, 2026.
SIGNIS Asia President Father Stanley Kozhichira welcomed the papal recognition and pointed to the role of communicators in building bridges in Asia’s pluralistic societies.
“In the Asian context, such appreciation for communicators adds a great deal to the Christian community, while the communication bridges built by such agents in the pluralistic Asian situation are much appreciated,” Kozhichira said.
He also expressed SIGNIS Asia’s appreciation and congratulations to Osman for receiving the honor.
SIGNIS President Father Walter Chikwendu Ihejirika thanked Osman for her years of service to the global association.
“We celebrate that you join past Presidents of SIGNIS in receiving this exalted honour. On behalf of the entire SIGNIS community, we extend our heartfelt congratulations and our deepest gratitude for your years of dedicated service to SIGNIS,” Ihejirika said.
SIGNIS Secretary General Peter Rachada Monthienvichienchai cited Osman’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and the social and financial fallout that followed.
“Throughout her two terms as president, almost a decade of service as the head of our association, she has not only shown outstanding leadership during periods of extreme challenges — namely the COVID-19 pandemic and the social and financial fallout that followed — but did so while displaying Gospel values and unwavering faith,” Monthienvichienchai said.
“Her synodal approach to leadership displayed true listening to the concerns of our worldwide members and inspired synodality in our members’ own missions in their country and region”, he added.
Before leading SIGNIS World, Osman served as director of communications for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
She coordinated coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s 2008 visit and Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to the United States.
Osman also chaired the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada, which presented her with its St. Francis de Sales Award in 2012.
The Order of St. Sylvester is one of five orders of knighthood conferred directly by the pope. It recognizes lay Catholics and, in some cases, members of other faiths for service to the Church and their professional record.
Pope Gregory XVI established the order in its present form in 1841, building on the earlier Militia of the Golden Spur. Pope Pius X reorganized it in 1905. Women have been admitted to the order since 1994.
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