This essay is a Cover Story selection, a weekly feature highlighting the top picks from the editors of America Media.
Since 2014, Gerard O’Connell has served as Vatican correspondent for America, and previously provided similar reporting for a diverse range of Catholic publications. Originally from Ireland, he has lived in Rome for decades, covered three papacies and developed a close personal relationship with Pope Francis. He is the author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Account of the Conclave That Changed History (2019).
I recently spoke with Mr. O’Connell to learn more about his media ministry in the city at the heart of the Catholic faith.
Connor Hartigan: Could you tell us a bit about your background, and how you came into your current role as Vatican correspondent for America Media?
Gerard O’Connell: I began work as America’s Vatican correspondent on board the Alitalia plane that took Pope Francis to the Holy Land in May 2014. Some months earlier, Matt Malone S.J., had approached me to ask if I would become America’s Vatican correspondent—the first ever in the history of a magazine that started way back in 1909.
I met Matt for the first time during the 2013 papal conclave, when as the newly appointed president and editor in chief of America, he was in Rome reporting on that historic event. He asked who I thought could be the next pope, and was surprised when I predicted Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as no one else had mentioned that name.
At the time of our meeting I was reporting on the conclave for La Stampa, the Italian daily, and its website Vatican Insider. I was also working as a Vatican analyst for CTV, the Canadian English-language television network. Earlier I had worked for 10 years as Vatican correspondent for The Tablet, the international Catholic weekly published in London, and for another 10 years for UCAN, the main Catholic news agency in Asia. I had covered the main events at the Vatican since 1985, including all the synods, the foreign trips of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, the death of John Paul II, the resignation of Benedict XVI and the conclaves of 2005 and 2013.
I accepted Matt’s offer to work for America because I had long been attracted by the Jesuit commitment to faith and justice that I saw strongly reflected in the editorial line of the magazine.
How is covering Francis different from covering previous popes?
Having reported on three popes—a Pole, a German and an Argentine—I have discovered that this is a truly challenging and fascinating task, one which requires not only an in-depth understanding of the faith and of church history, but also language skills. In addition, it involves building relations of trust with key Vatican officials and sources close to the pope.
In the case of Francis, I have the rare advantage of having known him for almost 20 years. My wife (Elisabetta Pique, also a journalist) and I got to know him and became friends with him long before he was elected pope, and that friendship endures to this day. This of course has made an enormous difference in helping us understand him well when he speaks and in reporting accurately for our respective news outlets.
How have Rome and the Vatican changed during your time there?
I have lived in the city for almost four decades and I have seen tremendous changes in that time. Changes, first of all, in the technology I use as a journalist, that is light years away from when I first started writing.
I have seen security tightened, especially around the Vatican. The public transport system has improved, but still leaves much to be desired as private vehicles continue to invade the streets.
Rome continues to attract ever more tourists and pilgrims, and currently it is receiving a major facelift as it prepares for the Jubilee Year of 2025, when more than 30 million pilgrims are expected to arrive in this almost 2,800-year-old city.
The Vatican museums have been upgraded and continue to attract millions every year. The bars, especially, but also the restaurants around the Vatican and in the center city have raised their prices considerably, seeking to compensate for their losses during the period of pandemic. Prices of accommodation have also risen significantly.
As many bishops on ad limina visits have testified, the Vatican under Pope Francis has become a far friendlier place than it was in the past. Vatican officials now warmly welcome visitors and listen attentively to what the visitor, whether a bishop or layperson, has to say.
In a word, the city has changed and the Vatican has changed, as has the way I work.
What is your sense of how Pope Francis is these days?
Apart from the mobility problem, Pope Francis is in very good health and has no other major health issues. He enjoys being pope and meeting people. He continues working even during his “vacation,” and is preparing for and looking forward very much to his foreign travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore in early September, and to the less demanding visits to Luxembourg and Belgium at the end of that same month. He’s planning to hold a consistory to name new cardinals before the end of the year. He’s looking ahead to the final session of the Synod on Synodality in October, and to opening the Jubilee Year on Dec. 24, a week after celebrating his 88th birthday. He shows no sign of letting up and intends to continue his mission for as long as God gives him the health and strength.
What’s it like to be on a plane with Pope Francis? How is your experience of those on-the-go press conferences?
It’s a great privilege to travel on the plane with Pope Francis, and to have yet another chance to greet him individually. In addition to his entourage of some 20 persons, including security detail and medical personnel, there will be around 75 journalists on this [journey to Indonesia], the longest foreign journey of his pontificate By now he knows most of the journalists, and much about their lives, as many tell him personal stories when he greets them, or give him letters or gifts. For all of us, meeting Pope Francis is a very special moment, and he is generous with the time he gives each one.
The press conferences on board the return flight from foreign visits are moments filled with expectation. Francis does not know the questions in advance, and one has to be prepared for surprises when he answers. Once he finishes, our work begins, and it is not an easy task to synthesize what he has said. It is an especially hectic task if the time to landing is short.
What does an average day in your life in Rome look like?
Being a reporter for America at the Vatican requires one to be always on the alert 24/7, especially under this papacy. One cannot afford to miss a big news story, or to make a major mistake. Not infrequently, significant stories break over the weekend, and sometimes at late evenings.
An average day begins with a review of the main Italian dailies, to check if there are any stories of relevance to the Vatican beat. It also involves scanning the pope’s agenda for the day. It may require attending a major press conference. It can demand arranging or conducting an interview with a Vatican official or visiting cardinal, or other subjects of interest. It often requires reading relevant books or interviews, or getting background briefings from informed sources, and chatting with colleagues. One may think that a given day looks reasonably free only to be surprised some hours later when the Vatican publishes some unexpected news that demands some hard work on the computer.
Not infrequently, other media outlets in the field of radio or television contact me for interviews, or for background information on topics related to the pope or the Vatican. Sometimes diplomats, other journalists, researchers or students in the field of communications contact me requesting information or advice, and that too is a contribution I am happy to give.
In addition to all this, being a Vatican correspondent involves building trust, developing good relations with officials in the Roman Curia and other sources of information. This entails spending time with people, inviting sources for meals or a drink, and respecting confidences. While speed is highly prized and important in the media today, I tend to privilege accuracy over speed whenever necessary.
Looking ahead to the synod, what do you think it’s going to be like? What are your thoughts on the direction in which the church is moving?
I have long been convinced that this synod will be one of the most transformative events in the Catholic church since the Second Vatican Council. I expect the October synod to move forward firmly in that direction, not by resolving one or other of the hot button questions, but in terms of promoting greater coresponsibility by all the members of the church and especially by giving women more responsibility. I expect it to reframe how the church is to deal with questions in the future in a synodal way at both the local and international levels, overcoming polarization and maintaining unity and the missionary focus.
Which figures in the church are you watching?
That’s a leading question! I am always watching what Pope Francis is doing, and how the persons he has appointed to senior positions in the Roman Curia and to important sees worldwide are carrying out their mission. I am looking forward with great interest to see whom Francis chooses as cardinals at the consistory later this year.
What’s it like to be in a family of journalists, with your wife covering conflicts in other areas of the world? Does your work intersect at all with hers?
It’s both enjoyable and challenging. Enjoyable, because we share information and can often work together on stories, and not infrequently check what the other has written. It’s challenging, particularly when Elisabetta is away from home covering conflicts because I try to follow closely what is happening to her, and at the same time seek to care for our two teenagers and to concentrate on the work that I have to do for America.
At the same time, when she was covering conflicts I learned a lot about the politics and the human suffering in those war zones, most recently in Ukraine and the Holy Land, and have always been impressed at the way Pope Francis—as he revealed publicly—used to call her regularly to find out how she was doing, and to find out what was happening on the front line.
