New York, NY (May 21, 2014) – Fr. Matt Malone, S.J., Editor in Chief of America, announced today the appointment of Gerard O’Connell as full-time Associate Editor and Vatican Correspondent. Mr. O’Connell will serve as the Rome bureau chief for America, the first appointment of its kind in the 105-year-old history of America magazine. America is a smart Catholic take on faith and culture, the leading national Catholic weekly magazine, published by the Jesuits of the United States.
“We are delighted to welcome Gerard O’Connell to America as our full-time Vatican correspondent. He will provide comprehensive coverage of this extraordinary moment in the life of the papacy and in the life of the Society of Jesus,” said Father Malone. “Mr. O’Connell is a senior member of the Vatican press corps and has an extensive network of contacts throughout the world that will position America as a ‘go-to’ resource for analysis and reporting from the heart of the church.”
Gerard O’Connell is an Irish-born journalist, graduate of Cambridge University (England) and has been resident in Rome for the past three decades. Mr. O’Connell began his career in journalism in 1985 when he was asked to report on the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops twenty years after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. Since then, he has reported on all the Synods of Bishops and, from 1990 onwards, on all of the major events at the Vatican, including the consistories and the foreign trips of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. In these years he has written for a variety of news outlets in the English-speaking world, including: The Tablet (UK, 1990-2000), The Universe (UK, 1990- present), Our Sunday Visitor (USA), The National Catholic Reporter (USA), Inside the Vatican (USA), The Southern Cross (South Africa), and The Herald (Malaysia),UCA News(the main Catholic news agency in Asia), and Vatican Insider. He has also contributed articles for the secular media in Britain, including The Independent, The Daily Mail, The Sunday Times, The Mirror, The Scotsman, as well as The Irish Independent.
As Associate Editor and Vatican Correspondent for America, Mr. O’Connell will be based in Rome and will be responsible for planning and producing America’s coverage of the papacy, Vatican affairs and Rome events. Beginning on August 1, 2014, he willwrite a weekly column in the print edition of America called “Vatican Dispatch” and will file reports regularly via America’s other digital platforms.
