Inside The Vatican
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.
Episodes
October 10, 2025 • 36 mins
Pope Leo XIV has released his first major teaching document, “Dilexi Te” (”I Have Loved You”). The apostolic exhortation, addressed “to all Christians on love for the poor,” was begun by Pope Francis and completed by Pope Leo. It emphasizes that the poor reveal a fundamental way of encountering Christ.
Gerard O’Connell, senior Vatican correspondent, and Ricardo da Silva, S.J., associate editor, join Colleen Dulle, host and Vatican...
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October 3, 2025 • 58 mins
The Swiss Guard is the oldest army in the world. Steeped in tradition, bearing the weight of history, the Pontifical Swiss Guard—like the whole of the Catholic Church—is in a constant balancing act between safeguarding heritage and responding to modern-day needs.
In this deep dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” the team reports from the Swiss Guard’s barracks on how the historic corps is navigating the tension between past, pres...
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September 30, 2025 • 16 mins
Pope Leo made a surprise appointment to fill the position he left behind as Prefect for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, the office that vets and recommends candidates to lead dioceses around the world. The man he chose, Archbishop Filippo Iannone, age 67, is an Italian bishop and member of the Carmelite Order. He was not, per Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell, among the names circulated before the appointment was made.
I...
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September 25, 2025 • 35 mins
As protests for Gaza shut down ports, schools and transit services in Italy this week, Pope Leo spoke again about the Holy Land, on Sunday greeting representatives from various Catholic groups that are “engaged in works of solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip.” This week on Inside the Vatican, co-hosts and Vatican correspondents Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Leo’s comments on Gaza both on Sunday and in his...
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September 18, 2025 • 46 mins
Andrea Bocelli and Pharrell Williams hosted an unprecedented pop concert in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday night, Sept. 13, the eve of Pope Leo XIV’s 70th birthday. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” America Vatican correspondents Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle discuss the concert, the Pope Leo’s birthday, and excerpts from his first major papal interview.
The hosts discuss Pope Leo’s comments on his American and Peruvian iden...
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September 11, 2025 • 42 mins
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” America Vatican correspondents Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle discuss the canonization of Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati. Gerry shares the sense of renewal he sees in the church given the popularity of these saints among young Catholics, and Colleen asks about some of the political and financial considerations in the saint-making process.
In the second half of the show, Colleen a...
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September 5, 2025 • 44 mins
Welcome to the eighth season of Inside the Vatican!
This week, America’s Senior Vatican Correspondent Gerard O’Connell and Vatican Correspondent Colleen Dulle unpack two significant meetings Pope Leo XIV held this week: One with their colleague the Rev. James Martin, S.J., and the other with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Gerry and Colleen reveal the significance of seemingly small details like the inclusion of Father Martin’s me...
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July 10, 2025 • 40 mins
Father Robert Prevost, O.S.A., has long been recognized as a bridge builder—a pastor who listens deeply, builds consensus, and seeks unity without imposing authority. In the third and final episode of our first-ever “Inside the Vatican” Deep Dive series on Pope Leo XIV, we follow his extraordinary journey—from his early years as pastor and formator in northern Peru to the chair of St. Peter.
Pope Leo’s ministry in Peru was marked ...
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July 9, 2025 • 29 mins
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.
In this second episode of our “Inside the Vatican” Deep Dive series on Pope Leo XIV, we follow the future pope to northern Peru. He first served in Chulucanas as a canon lawyer, helping establish the new diocese after its elevation from an apostolic prelature. Follow...
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July 8, 2025 • 29 mins
No one expected a pope from the U.S. In this first-ever “Inside the Vatican” Deep Dive series, those who know him best reveal who Pope Leo XIV—“the American pope”—really is.
Across three episodes, we trace his vocation from Chicago’s South Side through his formative years as an Augustinian friar in the Midwest; training as a canon lawyer in Rome; early ministry in Peru as canon lawyer, priest and formator of future friars and dioc...
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June 26, 2025 • 35 mins
Following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Pope Leo renewed his persistent plea for peace—condemning escalating violence and urging diplomacy over destruction. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell discuss his appeals for an end to war since his election and his unexpected remarks at the premiere of a play about journalist Paola Ugaz, who exposed abuse in Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a powerfu...
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June 19, 2025 • 30 mins
Pope Leo appeals for “reason and responsibility” amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran—and lights up the jumbotron in Chicago. This week on “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerry O’Connell report on the pope’s plea for peace and his message to 30,000 faithful at Rate Field, where he urged them to be “beacons of hope” in a divided world.
Find full show notes and related links on our website
Support our podc...
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June 12, 2025 • 36 mins
We pause our usual “Inside the Vatican” weekly format to continue the conversation from America Media’s subscriber-only Conclave Debrief event this past Monday, June 9. Hosts Colleen Dulle, Gerard O’Connell, and producer Ricardo da Silva respond to subscriber questions about Pope Leo XIV and the recent conclave.
Gerard compares this conclave with the 2013 election of Pope Francis, highlighting what made it unique. Colleen shares ...
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June 5, 2025 • 33 mins
Gerard O’Connell shares insights from his interviews with seven cardinal-electors about why they chose Pope Leo XIV: a missionary with a global outlook, a leader known for deep listening, a promoter of synodality, and someone they found deeply credible. We also cover Pope Leo’s first priestly ordinations in Rome, where he urged new priests to live “lives that are known, lives that can be read, lives that are credible.” At the Jubil...
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May 30, 2025 • 32 mins
Pope Leo XIV met with 5,000 Vatican employees this week, thanking them for their dedication and recognizing their role as the Vatican’s “institutional memory.” To acknowledge their extra work during the papal transition, he surprised them with a €500 bonus. We discuss what this gesture reveals about his leadership style and efforts to boost staff morale. We also recap his packed Sunday schedule: his installation at St. John Lateran...
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May 22, 2025 • 33 mins
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. They begin with his private meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and what it might suggest about his diplomatic approach amid tensions between the Vatican and the U.S. over issues like migration and climate. They then turn to his emotional inauguration ...
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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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