From priest to pope—will his missionary past define him as the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics, or will Pope Leo become something entirely new?

Father Robert Prevost’s early years in Peru shaped his ministry and vision for the church—but few know the brutal reality he encountered there in the 1980s and 1990s.

No one ever expected a U.S.-born pope. In this first-ever I “Inside the Vatican” Deep Dive series, those who know him best reveal who Pope Leo XIV—“the American pope”—really is. In Episode 1, we hear from the genealogist who uncovered his Louisiana roots, a teacher, and fellow Augustinian friars and friends.

On Inside the Vatican, we explore Pope Leo’s persistent calls for peace and his unexpected support for journalist Paola Ugaz, who exposed abuse in a powerful Peruvian lay group suppressed by Pope Francis.

At the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Leo urged “reason and responsibility” amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran—just hours before lighting up the jumbotron at Chicago’s Rate Field, calling 30,000 faithful to be “beacons of hope.”

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell and producer Ricardo da Silva, S.J., answer listener questions about the conclave and the first month of Pope Leo XIV.

In this episode, we dive into a series of candid interviews conducted by veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell with cardinal-electors from around the world on the new pope.

In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen and Gerry explore the pope’s message to the Vatican workforce and recap Pope Leo’s formal installation at the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Sunday, May 25.

A week into the papacy of Pope Leo XIV—the first U.S.-born pope—hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell take stock of the emerging contours and dimensions of his leadership.

A conversation with Father Robert Hagan, O.S.A., the prior provincial of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, about the spiritual foundations of our new American pope.