Jesuitical
Welcome to Jesuitical, a podcast for young Catholics hosted by two young, lay editors at America—Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless. Each episode features a guest who offers a unique perspective on faith, culture or current events. We also bring you some of the top (and maybe more obscure) Catholic news of the week. And we'll ask: Where do we find God in all this?
Episodes
August 1, 2025 • 27 mins
Forget what you think you know about Saint Augustine. Maybe you only know the cities that take his name, or you had a tough experience in your introduction to philosophy class and found him medieval (in the pejorative sense) and scrupulous.
But what if Augustine was actually the first to hone in on and clearly express our human desire for authenticity, that restlessness that all of us have felt at one point in our lives? What if, ...
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July 25, 2025 • 28 mins
The hot weather couldn’t keep Ashley and Zac away from the mics, so they’re back with a summer “best of” series, featuring some of the most interesting and engaging interviews from the past few years.
What does it mean to be a mystic in the modern age? Many of us think of mysticism as something for spiritual masters who lock themselves away from the world in monasteries and convents and dedicate their lives to constant prayer. But...
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July 18, 2025 • 35 mins
The hot weather couldn’t keep Ashley and Zac away from the mics, so they’re back with a summer “best of” series, featuring some of the most interesting and engaging interviews from the past few years.
In this episode, Professor Kenneth Bartlett, a renowned Renaissance historian and author from the University of Toronto, explores the enduring legacy and allure of the eternal city of Rome for Catholics. Why did Peter go to Rome? Is ...
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June 27, 2025 • 59 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Christopher White, the former Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. Next month, Chris will start a new position as the associate director for strategic engagement and a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. Chris’s forthcoming book is, Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.
Zac,...
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June 20, 2025 • 45 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are thrilled to speak with their friend and colleague Father James Martin about his new podcast, “The Spiritual Life with Fr. James Martin, S.J.,” which launched this week.
We then share Jim’s conversation with actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi is known for playing a larger-than-life nun in “Sister Act,” but did you know she was also raised Catholic and educated by nuns until the...
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June 13, 2025 • 45 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley talk with U.S. Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat who has served as a senator from Delaware since 2010.
Zac, Ashley and Senator Coons discuss:
How the senator’s Protestant upbringing and the example of his parents shaped his perspective on service
Why Democrats need to be more open about their faith in the public arena
How Senator Coons feels about having the first America...
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June 6, 2025 • 64 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley share a live interview recorded at 6ABC studios in Philadelphia, Pa., featuring prior provincial of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, Robert Hagan, O.S.A. Father Rob discusses the case for the canonization of Bill Atkinson, O.S.A., an Augustinan friar who was the first quadriplegic ordained in the Catholic Church and whose life—according to Father Rob—was a miracle.
Zac, Ashley and...
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May 30, 2025 • 61 mins
Joining Zac and Ashley on this week’s episode of “Jesuitical” is Jamie Baxter, Founder & CEO of Exodus 90. The program, which helps men to strengthen their faith through prayer, asceticism and fraternity, faced some early skepticism from the Church—and the Jesuitical team—that led to valuable innovation.
Zac, Ashley and Jamie discuss:
Jamie’s conversion story, going to seminary and ultimately discerning out
How the id...
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May 23, 2025 • 56 mins
On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac are joined by Mark Francis, C.S.V., who was a seminary classmate of Pope Leo (then known as Bob Prevost) at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in the late 1970s. Father Mark is the provincial of the Chicago province of the Viatorian community, and he describes Pope Leo as a thoughtful and sensitive leader—even in their seminary days.
Zac, Ashley, and Fr. Mark discuss:
...
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May 12, 2025 • 33 mins
Welcome to America magazine’s Conclave Podcast. Our editors are on the ground in Rome covering the first days of Leo XIV’s historic papacy.
Today, Pope Leo met with members of the Vatican press corps and the thousands of other media in Rome covering his election, telling them to be peacemakers and calling for the release of all imprisoned journalists.
On our final episode recorded in Rome, the team discusses:
How Pope Leo r...
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May 11, 2025 • 22 mins
Welcome to America magazine’s Conclave Podcast. In this episode, the team discusses the Augustinian (and American) roots of Pope Leo XIV.
They discuss:
Pope Leo XIV is an alum of Villanova University. What’s the atmosphere is like on campus right now?
The Augustinian roots of Pope Leo: the intellectual, spiritual and social principles that will lead his ministry
How poverty, chastity and obedience are a path to fr...
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May 9, 2025 • 25 mins
Welcome to America magazine’s Conclave Podcast. In this episode, veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O'Connell speaks to Colleen Dulle and Sam Sawyer, SJ about the unexpectedly quick election of Pope Leo XIV, who was elected on the fourth ballot in the conclave.
They discuss:
What the speedy election tell us about the conclave?
Why a pope from the U.S. was thought to be "impossible", and why it happened anyway.
Analyz...
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May 8, 2025 • 21 mins
Welcome to the America magazine conclave podcast. We are thrilled to join the church in welcoming Pope Leo XIV!
Our team was just in St. Peter’s Square for the historic election, and we’re here with first reactions and some important details about the life and ministry of the missionary Augustinian friar turned pope: the now former-Cardinal Robert F. Prevost.
Links from the show:
Robert Francis Prevost elected first American...
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May 8, 2025 • 24 mins
Do we really trust the Holy Spirit to guide the election of a pope? What does that trust feel like? Are we hopeful or fearful for what is to come? Why does it feel so hard to pray in Rome sometimes?
The cardinals have asked for our prayers repeatedly in the run-up to the conclave. While they are sequestered away on the second day of conclave, Sebastian Gomes, Ashley McKinless, Zac Davis and J.D. Long García talk about what their ...
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May 7, 2025 • 43 mins
Welcome to America magazine’s Conclave Podcast. Our editors are on the ground in Rome covering the conclave to elect the next pope.
In today’s episode from Rome, the team discusses:
The protocols being followed by the cardinals in conclave
The “habemus papam” moment, what the pope wears and other telling symbolic gestures
What happens in the days immediately following the election of a pope?
This episode fea...
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May 6, 2025 • 32 mins
Welcome to America magazine’s Conclave Podcast. In today’s episode from Rome, the team discusses the frontrunners entering the conclave, and explains how the voting could quickly confirm papabile lists or pivot to an unexpected candidate.
Featuring:
Gerard O’Connell, America’s Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Account of the Conclave that Changed History
Colleen Dulle, co-host o...
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May 5, 2025 • 68 mins
Welcome to America magazine’s Conclave Podcast. Our editors are on the ground in Rome covering the conclave to elect the next pope.
In today’s episode from Rome, the team discusses:
Final preparations for the conclave, including additional meetings for the cardinals
President Trump’s A.I. pope image
Covering the conclave for secular media, with NPR’s Scott Detrow
The quirky procedures and protocols of the c...
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May 3, 2025 • 61 mins
Welcome to America magazine’s Conclave Podcast. Our editors are on the ground in Rome covering the conclave to elect the next pope.
In today’s episode from Rome, the team discusses:
The security measures being taken at Casa Santa Marta, where the cardinal electors will stay during the conclave, including lock inspections and sealed windows
The history and recent rise of betting on who will be the next pope, as well as ...
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May 2, 2025 • 43 mins
Welcome to America magazine’s Conclave Podcast. Our editors are on the ground in Rome covering the conclave to elect the next pope.
In today’s episode from Rome, the team discusses:
The latest conclave news, including the installation of the chimney of the roof of the Sistine Chapel and how many cardinals have arrived in Rome
The cardinals have asked Catholics to pray for them and the conclave. What exactly should we b...
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May 1, 2025 • 38 mins
Welcome to America magazine’s Conclave Podcast. Our editors are on the ground in Rome covering the conclave to elect the next pope.
In today’s episode from Rome, the team discusses:
Cardinal Beniamino Stella’s stunning attack on Pope Francis in Wednesday’s general congregation meeting of the College of Cardinals
The “election” of a new bishop in mainland China—while the chair of St. Peter is empty
Papabile: How d...
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