George Weigel

Distinguished Senior Fellow and William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies

George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, is a Catholic theologian and one of America’s leading public intellectuals. He holds EPPC’s William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies.

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George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, is a Catholic theologian and one of America’s leading public intellectuals. He holds EPPC’s William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies.

From 1989 through June 1996, Mr. Weigel was president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he led a wide-ranging, ecumenical and inter-religious program of research and publication on foreign and domestic policy issues.

Mr. Weigel is perhaps best known for his widely translated and internationally acclaimed two-volume biography of Pope St. John Paul II: the New York Times bestseller, Witness to Hope (1999), and its sequel, The End and the Beginning (2010). In 2017, Weigel published a memoir of the experiences that led to his work as a papal biographer: Lessons in Hope — My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II.

George Weigel is the author or editor of more than thirty other books, many of which have been translated into other languages. Among the most recent are Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church (2013); Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches (2013); Letters to a Young Catholic (2015); The Fragility of Order: Catholic Reflections on Turbulent Times (2018); The Next Pope: The Office of Peter and a Church in Mission (2020);Not Forgotten: Elegies for, and Reminiscences of, a Diverse Cast of Characters, Most of Them Admirable (2021); and To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II (2022). His essays, op-ed columns, and reviews appear regularly in major opinion journals and newspapers across the United States. A frequent guest on television and radio, he is also Senior Vatican Analyst for NBC News. His weekly column, “The Catholic Difference,” is syndicated to ninety-one newspapers and magazines in five countries.

Mr. Weigel received a B.A. (Philosophy) from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, an M.A. (Theology) from the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto, and is the recipient of nineteen honorary doctorates. In 2024 he was decorated with the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, and has also been awarded the Papal Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, the Lithuanian Diplomacy Star, and the Gloria Artis Gold Medal of Poland’s Ministry of Culture.

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The Ascension vs. Human Composting

George Weigel

There are many reasons to regret the transfer of the Solemnity of the Ascension to the seventh Sunday of the…

Articles

Catholic World Report / July 9, 2025

Independence Day #249

George Weigel

In the twelve months leading up to next year’s American semiquincentennial, the tale will frequently be told of Benjamin Franklin’s encounter with…

Articles

The Catholic World Report / July 2, 2025

On Flannery O’Connor’s Centenary

George Weigel

How appropriate that Flannery O’Connor should have been born on the Solemnity of the Annunciation: the liturgical feast celebrating the…

Articles

National Catholic Register / June 25, 2025

‘Public’ Does Not Mean ‘State’ or ‘Government’

George Weigel

In its recent non-decision, St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic School v. Drummond, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand an obtuse…

Articles

National Catholic Register / June 18, 2025

Yes, It’s Our War, Too

George Weigel

In late May, Trump administration officials at the highest level, frustrated by what they regard as Vladimir Putin’s incomprehensible obstreperousness…

Articles

National Catholic Register / June 11, 2025

New book by George Weigel focuses on universities, truth, faith, and reason

George Weigel

Pomp, Circumstance, and Unsolicited Advice (Ignatius Press, 2025) brings together two dozen commencement addresses and university lectures, given since the turn…

Interviews

The Catholic World Report / June 6, 2025

Petrocentrism: a problem?

George Weigel

What happens in Rome does not even begin to exhaust what is happening in, to, and with the Catholic Church throughout the world.

Articles

The Catholic World Report / June 4, 2025

‘Doctrinal clarity, strong governance, thoughtful appointments’ among Weigel’s hopes for new papacy

George Weigel

ROME (OSV News) — Only a few days have passed since the election of Pope Leo XIV, but the 266th successor…

Articles

OSV News / June 3, 2025

A Catholic Fix for American Higher Education?

George Weigel

Why are so many American colleges and universities in crisis? Drew Gilpin Faust, an accomplished Civil War historian, gave the…

Articles

Syndicated Column / May 28, 2025

Getting Foreign Aid Right

George Weigel

Rhetorical restraint is not prominent in Washington these days. Given the volatile personalities involved and the escalatory effects of social…

Articles

Syndicated Column / May 21, 2025

Weigel’s Wisdom: What Makes a Good Catholic Commencement Speech?

George Weigel

Every spring, the slate of commencement speakers at Catholic colleges across the country delivers a fresh round of inspiration —…

Interviews

Hopes for a new pontificate

George Weigel

It is entirely reasonable to hope that Pope Leo XIV will govern in such a way that Catholics are reminded of a basic truth: solidity, not liquidity, is the hallmark of “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

Articles

The Catholic World Report / May 14, 2025