Diocese of Tucson hires Rivera as Director of Communications

The Diocese of Tucson recently hired Lorraine Rivera as its Director of Communications. Rivera is a familiar face to Southern Arizona after working in commercial and public broadcasting for nearly 20 years. The Douglas native left television journalism in 2021 when then Governor Doug Ducey recruited her to serve as the Director of Southern Arizona during the last year of his term.  

“Leaving television was not difficult for me,” Rivera said. “Over the years I had grown disillusioned with the industry because it had evolved, almost beyond recognition for me.” Rivera said being a Catholic working in journalism was particularly challenging, “There are issues and topics journalists cover, and they can conflict with your personal beliefs and ideologies. For years, I tried to navigate the complexity of who I was on television and who I am as a Catholic. One day I decided it was enough and began to discern what was next.” Rivera said she did so through prayer and total surrender to God. In 2020, Rivera got a call gauging her interest in working for the governor. “That call was the answer to my prayers because there was no anxiety or stress about it. I knew it was God calling me to do something else with my talents and treasures. I didn’t feel like I was necessarily being called to work in government or politics, but it was God showing me that he had a different plan for me, and this opportunity was the literal leap of faith I needed to move on,” she said.  

Rivera was appointed by Ducey so her term would end when he left the office. Rivera said she kicked prayers into high gear as she determined what might be next. “I would pray specifically for peace and grace in determining what was next, I was open to anything that God had planned for me. As a wife and mom, there was never a question of what to do because being a parent and spouse are vocations in and of themselves, so I was always occupied.”  

Then one day as Rivera was shopping, she bumped into Fr. John Arnold, the priest who had married her and her husband 15 years earlier. Fr. John encouraged Rivera to apply to the diocese, “I was in awe that here I was praying for what’s next and then I saw Fr. John and he told me to apply. I remember telling Fr. John, ‘Wow, this is serendipitous that we’re talking’ and in typical Fr. John fashion he corrects me and says, ‘It’s not serendipity, it’s God, spell it right!’” Rivera said interviewing with Bishop Edward Weisenburger and Vicar General Fr. Ed Lucero was completely comfortable, “As our meeting ended, we prayed together and, in that moment, I felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders,” she said.  

Rivera was born and raised in the border community of Douglas. Though she made her first communion and was confirmed at Saint Luke Catholic Church in Douglas, Rivera is most proud to say that she was baptized at Saint Bernard Catholic Church in Pirtleville which is next to Douglas. “It’s a small, poor town but the faith is rich. My parents were married there, and my grandparents had their funerals there,” she said. Rivera said much of her trust in God and commitment to the Catholic faith came from her parents and grandparents, “When my nana became a widow, I especially enjoyed staying with her on the weekends and driving her to Mass on Sundays and then taking her to the cemetery. I remembered falling asleep listening to her pray the rosary and then when I woke up, she was still clutching the rosary and praying. Those memories are beautiful and won’t ever fade,” she said.  

Today Rivera is a parishioner at Saint Ambrose Catholic Church in Tucson, having joined while a student at the University of Arizona. “I always prayed for a husband so when I met my boyfriend, who is now my husband, I told him if you’re serious you might have to start coming to Mass with me. The next morning when I left the dorm, he was sitting on the bench waiting for me. For those of us who trust in God, we feel that leap in our hearts and it gave me great joy to see him,” she recalled. Fr. Liam Leahy, Rivera’s childhood priest from Douglas, and Fr. John Arnold concelebrated the sacrament of marriage at St. Ambrose. Rivera said she cried during much of the Mass because of the beauty of a prayer answered, “My husband still teases me to this day about crying during the ceremony and it’s because I was totally and utterly in amazement as to how good God is to me and how he does answer prayers.” 

Rivera said she is grateful to have the opportunity to bring her background in media and state government to the Diocese of Tucson, “By no means am I a saint but I am committed to my faith so that I can better serve Jesus Christ to the best of my God-given ability.”