Kerry Weber is an executive editor at America Media. On May 20, 2025, the Catholic Media Association announced that she had been elected president of the association, beginning her two-year term at the conclusion of the year’s Catholic Media Conference, which was held this year in Phoenix, Ariz., June 24-27. Kerry lives in Massachusetts with her husband and three young children. Grace Lenahan spoke to Kerry about her long history in Catholic media. Her responses have been edited for length and clarity.
How long have you been with America, and how has your role evolved over time?
I started at America in October 2009 as an assistant editor. Early on, I mainly focused on editing (which has remained consistent), but I also helped with video and podcasting. I had just come out of grad school with training in newer tech, and the attitude at the office was a friendly assumption: “You’re young. You do the tech stuff!” But I really enjoyed it and had a lot of freedom to work on different audio or video projects.
One of our more regular multimedia efforts was filming short videos to accompany the magazine’s “Current Comment” section—brief editorials that we’d turn into talking-head videos.
We filmed those in the LaFarge Lounge, this gorgeous, old-school, library-style room in our old office on 56th Street, full of leather chairs and wood-paneled walls. But the wiring was ancient: If we plugged in too many lights, the whole system would blow out mid-recording. Tim Reidy and I would sometimes have to rush to finish filming before the lights gave out. Compared with our current professional studio setup, it was very D.I.Y., but also kind of magical.
As our multimedia work became more professionalized and streamlined, and as we hired more staff who could devote more time to AV, I focused more on the print magazine, handling feature articles, the Faith in Focus section and building relationships with writers and editors. Throughout, I’ve tried to stay flexible and responsive to the needs of the church, the organization and our staff.
Can you talk about your Sirius XM show?
For a few years, we had a weekly radio show on SiriusXM called “America This Week.” It was usually Matt Malone, the editor and chief, and me discussing the week’s news along with a guest, as part of our effort to reach new audiences and help people process current events at the intersection of the church and the world.
Before that, America already had a podcast, called simply “The America Podcast,” started by Tim Reidy. We’d take turns doing interviews, record with a portable Zoom mic, and edit them in Audacity. It was simple and informal, but we had lots of good conversations on it.
I was going to ask who your favorite interviewee is, but I’m assuming it might be Pope Francis?
It’s hard to top that. Although I have to say that getting to spend the day with Tomie dePaola was an absolute dream come true.
How did it come to be that you were interviewing the pope?
Our Vatican correspondent, Gerry O’Connell, had been working behind the scenes for a long time to set up an interview with Pope Francis, but in the end, it came together very quickly. The pope let us know he’d be available in just a few weeks, and I got a call from Tim: “So…we’re interviewing Pope Francis—would you like to go?” I said yes immediately.
The night before, I was incredibly nervous. What if I messed it up? What if he didn’t show? But the moment he walked into the room, I felt completely at peace. He was relaxed and grounded, and that helped all of us relax, too.
The interview was conducted in Spanish, with a translator present. But even when I didn’t understand his words directly, the pope’s gestures, facial expressions and attentiveness made it easy to follow the emotional content of what he was saying. He had this remarkable ability to make you feel like he’s speaking to you, like there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. It was deeply moving.
We were mindful of the time, expecting maybe an hour, but he stayed with us for almost two. He just seemed happy to be in conversation, talking about the church and its mission. I’d seen him before, briefly. My husband and I attended the Sposi Novelli blessing after our wedding, where newlyweds gather in St. Peter’s Square. We shook his hand there, though it’s a surprisingly competitive scene with other brides elbowing in! I also saw him during his visit to a Catholic school in Harlem, but this interview was the first real encounter. And it was unforgettable.
What other moments have stood out in your time at America?
There have been so many moments, both joyful and difficult, when I’ve felt deeply grateful to work at America, and to work alongside this group of people. One of the most challenging times was in 2018, when the Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy abuse was released. It was heartbreaking to try to process that news emotionally and spiritually, but also professionally, as we worked to report on it and help our readers process it, too. And yet, I was so grateful to be in a place where I could grapple with that news in a community, grounded in Ignatian spirituality, asking: Where is God in this? Where is God leading us?
Of course, there have been unforgettable moments of joy, like being in the office the day Pope Francis was elected. The energy in a room full of Jesuits learning there was suddenly a Jesuit pope was electric. It felt momentous.
But some of the most meaningful moments for me have come quietly, through my interactions with the people who write for us. More than once I’ve found myself on the phone with a writer, both of us tearing up as they share their story and what it means to finally have it told. I’m so grateful to play even a small role in that. These moments of connection are a true blessing.
Do you find that through your work, your faith is strengthened or challenged?
I would say both. On one hand, I often find that writing about spiritual experiences and sharing them with our community actually helps me process them more deeply. It can be a form of prayer in itself. On the other hand, it can also be challenging. I have to be really careful not to filter every experience of faith or spirituality through the lens of work.
Not everything is content. Not every moment of prayer or encounter with God needs to be—or should be—an article.
The danger is that it can sometimes create a kind of distance from my own spirituality. If I’ve spent the whole day thinking about God for work, it can feel like a stretch to then sit down and pray personally—it can feel like more work. So I’ve had to be intentional about nurturing a spiritual life that’s not tied to my job.
For me, that’s meant staying rooted in a parish community, being involved in service outside of work and just making sure I’m tending to a spiritual life that exists apart from deadlines and editorial calendars. It’s not about drawing hard boundaries, but about protecting that space where my relationship with God isn’t mediated by my job.
Can you tell me about your involvement with the grant on storytelling America recently received from Lilly Endowment?
As part of the Lilly grant, we’ve committed to enhancing the reporting in our features section across the next five years. My role is to ensure we’re developing strong, compelling story ideas that we now have the resources to report more fully, whether that means travel, accompanying visuals or deeper on-the-ground reporting.
For example, we’re planning to send J.D. Long García to Las Vegas to report on the growth of the new archdiocese there, which is booming. That’s the kind of hopeful, forward-looking story we want to tell more often.
Readers may notice small visual upgrades, like additional use of professional photography, such as for our recent piece on the Franciscan Peacemakers in Milwaukee. It’s a way to better honor the people we’re profiling and to offer readers a richer, more immersive experience.
I’d love for you to talk about your experience writing your book, Mercy in the City.
Mercy in the City was about my attempt to live out the corporal works of mercy during one Lent, not as a checklist, but as a way to cultivate a mindset of mercy that could extend beyond the season. It also gave me the opportunity to see how people were living out mercy across New York, a city I love.
I’d always wanted to write a book, and this one began when Loyola Press invited me to write Lenten reflections. What I ended up writing was a bit different, but they were wonderfully supportive. One of the most powerful moments was visiting San Quentin State Prison and speaking with the men there and with the Jesuit chaplain, Father George Williams. It really deepened my thinking about judgment, mercy and how we view both others’ mistakes and our own.
Did being one of the earlier female editors at America come with a sense of pressure, possibility or both?
When I joined America, there weren’t many women on the editorial team, though the women who were there were very talented and had strong voices, including Karen Sue Smith and Pat Kossmann, and I appreciated their leadership. Today there’s much broader representation—women and men working together across departments and at all levels. That’s been a really positive development.
What does it mean to you to be elected president of the Catholic Media Association?
I am truly honored to take on this new role. I hope that in a time of many changes and challenges, from polarization or A.I., I can help to build on the good work of the C.M.A. and that some of my experience may be of some use as we navigate these waters. My fellow board members and C.M.A. members are incredibly hard-working and thoughtful people, so the good news is that none of us will have to travel the path ahead alone.
