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.
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.
VIDEO: George Weigel on Sino-Vatican Deal
April 7, 2021 | Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel discussed current Vatican policy toward the People’s Republic of China with Chelsea Michta of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a Washington-based research institute and museum.
AUDIO: George Weigel Discusses Biden, Catholic Church on Issues, Etc. Podcast
January 26, 2021 | Issues, Etc. Podcast
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on the Issues, Etc. podcast to discuss President Joe Biden’s Catholic faith, and its implications for policy and for the Church.
AUDIO: George Weigel on “The Next Pope” at The Catholic Current Radio
October 21, 2020 | The Catholic Current
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on “The Catholic Current,” hosted by The Station of the Cross Catholic Radio Network, for an interview about his latest book, The Next Pope.
VIDEO: George Weigel gives Keynote Address at Nebraska Catholic Conference virtual pro-life event, “Redeeming the Time”
October 24, 2020 | Nebraska Catholic Conference
On October 24, 2020, EPPC Senior Distinguished Fellow George Weigel delivered the keynote address at the Nebraska Catholic Conference’s Virtual Pro-Life Event entitled “Redeeming the Time.”
AUDIO: George Weigel on the importance of religious liberty
October 7, 2020 | Voting Catholic, America Magazine
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on the Voting Catholic podcast at America Magazine to discuss current threats to religious liberty with podcast host Sebastian Gomes.
VIDEO: George Weigel Discusses the Golden Age of Catholic Campus Ministry on CCMA’s CampusMIN Podcast
September 18, 2020 | CampusMIN Podcast
VIDEO: George Weigel Discusses New Book The Next Pope on EWTN’s “The World Over”
June 18, 2020 | EWTN - The World Over
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on EWTN’s “The World Over” with host Raymond Arroyo to discuss Mr. Weigel’s new book The Next Pope: The Office of Peter and a Church in Mission.
AUDIO: George Weigel Discusses John Paul II Centenary on Conversations with Consequences Podcast
May 7, 2020 | Conversations with Consequences podcast
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on the Catholic Association’s “Conversations with Consequences” podcast to discuss the life and legacy of Pope St. John Paul II as we approach his centenary.
VIDEO: George Weigel Delivers 2019 Diane Knippers Memorial Lecture
November 19, 2019 | Institute on Religion and Democracy
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel delivered the 2019 Diane Knippers Memorial Lecture at the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington. The title of Mr. Weigel’s lecture was “The National Interest and the National Purpose.”
VIDEO: George Weigel Discusses Latest Book on EWTN’s “The World Over”
October 24, 2019 | EWTN - The World Over
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on EWTN to discuss his new book, The Irony of Modern Catholic History, on “The World Over” with Raymond Arroyo.
AUDIO: George Weigel on Where the Catholic Church Is and Where It’s Headed on Fox News Podcast
October 10, 2019 | Fox News - Lighthouse Faith podcast
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on Fox News’s “Lighthouse Faith” podcast to discuss recent events in the life of the Catholic Church, as well as his new book The Irony of Modern Catholic History.
VIDEO: George Weigel Discusses New Books on ETWN’s “Bookmark”
September 22, 2019 | EWTN - Bookmark
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on ETWN’s “Bookmark” with host Doug Keck to discuss his new book The Irony of Modern Catholic History, in which he explores the Catholic Church’s clash with the modern world, and his earlier book The Fragility of Order, in which he shares a collection of his influential historical, cultural, and political essays.