George Weigel

George Weigel is a Distinguished Senior Fellow the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Catholic Studies Program. A Catholic theologian and New York Times bestselling author, he is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on the Catholic Church and one of America’s leading public intellectuals. He served as president of EPPC from 1989-1996. 

Mr. Weigel is perhaps best known for his widely translated and internationally acclaimed John Paul II Trilogy: a two-volume biography (Witness to Hope [1999] and its sequel, The End and the Beginning [2010]), and a memoir (Lessons in Hope — My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II [2017]). 

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); Not Forgotten: Elegies for, and Reminiscences of, a Diverse Cast of Characters, Most of Them Admirable (2021); To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II (2022), and Pomp, Circumstance, and Unsolicited Advice: Commencement Addresses and University Lectures (2025). His essays, op-ed columns, and reviews appear in major opinion journals and newspapers across the United States. A frequent guest on television, radio, and podcasts, 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, 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. 

His articles, columns, reviews, lectures, podcasts and interviews are archived at www.georgeweigel.com. 

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