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 Discusses The Irony of Modern Catholic History at Catholic University
September 17, 2019 | Catholic University of America
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel discussed his new book The Irony of Modern Catholic History: How the Church Rediscovered Itself and Challenged the Modern World to Reform at an event sponsored by the Institute for Human Ecology at the Catholic University of America.
AUDIO: George Weigel Discusses The Irony of Modern Catholic History on Bookmonger Podcast
September 16, 2019 | Bookmonger podcast
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on National Review‘s
AUDIO: George Weigel Discusses Pell Case on TCA Podcast
May 31, 2019 | The Catholic Association's Conversations with Consequences podcast
PPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on The Catholic Association’s Conversations with Consequences podcast to discuss the ongoing case involving sexual abuse charges against Australian Cardinal George Pell and the Cardinal’s pending appeal.
VIDEO: “The Laity and Renewal: Acting Ecclesially” featuring George Weigel at The Catholic Project conference
April 25, 2019 | The Catholic University of America
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel spoke at a conference hosted by The Catholic Project, an initiative of The Catholic University of America.
VIDEO: George Weigel on Notre Dame Fire on MSNBC
April 16, 2019 | MSNBC - Andrea Mitchell Reports
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and the significance of the cathedral to France and to the world.
AUDIO: George Weigel on Friendship with John Paul II
March 21, 2019 | Real Presence Radio
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on Real Presence Radio to discuss his friendship with Pope St. John Paul II and his upcoming visit for the Catholic Social Services Palm Sunday Breakfast in Rapid City, South Dakota.
VIDEO/AUDIO: George Weigel on the Show Trial of Cardinal Pell
March 11, 2019 | The Patrick Coffin Show
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on the Patrick Coffin Show to discuss the guilty verdict in Australia against Cardinal George Pell.
VIDEO: George Weigel Discusses Upcoming Vatican Summit with EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo
January 17, 2019 | EWTN - The World Over
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on EWTN’s “The World Over” to discuss the latest Catholic news and the expectations for the Vatican’s summit on sex abuse in February.
AUDIO: George Weigel on What 2019 May Hold for the Church
January 7, 2019 | EWTN
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on EWTN Catholic Radio’s Morning Glory to look ahead at what 2019 might be like for the Catholic Church in the U.S. and around the world.
Interview: George Weigel talks with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson about his new book “The Fragility of Order”
May 14, 2018 | WIND-AM's "Chicago's Morning Answer"
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel discusses his new book The Fragility of Order: Catholic Reflections on Turbulent Times on WIND-AM’s “Chicago’s Morning Answer” with hosts Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson.
VIDEO: George Weigel Discusses New Book Lessons in Hope with EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo
September 22, 2017 | EWTN - The World Over
EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel appeared on EWTN’s “The World Over” with host Raymond Arroyo to discuss his new book Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II.
VIDEO: George Weigel on Trump Immigration Order, Gorsuch, and the Need for a “Moral Awakening”
February 2, 2017 | EWTN News Nightly
On February 2, 2017, EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel talked to EWTN’s Lauren Ashburn about President Trump’s immigration order, the…