On May 8th, 2025 the world was introduced to Pope Leo XIV.
Imagine our surprise, here at Catholic Theological Union, when the red curtains parted to reveal a familiar face. That’s right, the Pope went to CTU.
It’s only been a week and already much has been made of the first US-born Pope. The first Pope for whom English is the first language. A Pope born in Chicago.
Not only this, but we have a young Pope. A Pope who has a smartphone in his pocket, who knows how Twitter works. This Pope plays Wordle.
Social media has been abuzz with memes, jokes, and speculations. Even before the Pope’s election, many were calling this “the TikTok conclave.” What do we make of this? How might this media saturation come to impact or even characterize this new papacy? And how might the legacy of Francis, who revolutionized the accessibility of the Vicar of Christ, continue or transform under Leo’s leadership?
For this episode of The Department of Nuance podcast, we’re pleased to welcome Katie Prejean McGrady - podcast regular, Sirius XM radio host, and frequent commentator at CNN - who has been intimately involved in the media coverage of the conclave. Co-hosting this episode is Bernardin Scholar Paul Jarzembowski, whom you’ll remember from our episode on synodality and jubilee.
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