One year ago today, Leo XIV was elected the first pope from the United States of America. In this deep dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” we examine how the U.S. evolved from a nation with a long history of anti-Catholicism to one welcoming an American-born pope, and why the cardinals defied a longstanding taboo against a pope from a global superpower.

Interviews include:

  • Kathleen Sprows Cummings, the John A. O’Brien Collegiate Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Notre Dame
  • Christopher Lamb, CNN Vatican Correspondent and author of The Outsider: Pope Francis and the Battle to Reform the Church and American Hope: What Pope Leo XIV Means for the Church and the World
  • J.D. Long García, senior editor at America

Links from the show:

Pope Leo XIV’s First Year

Each week, Colleen Dulle goes behind the headlines of the biggest Vatican news stories with America’s Rome correspondent Gerard O’Connell. They'll break down complicated news stories that have a whole lot of history behind them in an understandable, engaging way. Colleen and Gerard will give you the inside scoop on what people inside the Vatican are thinking, saying—and planning.

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