On June 1st, 2024, George Weigel marked 35 years of scholarship at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Weigel served as EPPC’s president from 1989 to 1996, was a senior fellow from 1996 to 2007, and in November 2007 was named the organization’s first Distinguished Senior Fellow. He currently holds EPPC’s William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies.
EPPC President Ryan T. Anderson praised Mr. Weigel’s time at EPPC:
A counselor of popes, presidents, cabinet officers, legislators, and university presidents, George Weigel has changed the course of the Church and our nation for the better. His 35 years at EPPC are nothing short of extraordinary in terms of intellectual output that has made a difference. Through his thirty-some books, his weekly columns, his periodic longform essays, and his various public lectures, summer seminars, and seminary courses, George has done more than perhaps any layperson in the past half century when it comes to sentire cum Ecclesia. His time at EPPC is EPPC at its finest.
Here is a sampling of some highlights of Mr. Weigel’s work and accomplishments during his time at EPPC:
During his time at EPPC, he has authored or edited over 30 books which have been translated into many languages, including Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Slovak, French, Russian, Portuguese, Croatian, Romanian, Lithuanian, and Mandarin. He has received 19 honorary doctorates, was the recipient of the Polish TOTUS prize in 2009, has been awarded the Papal Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, the Gloria Artis Gold Medal of Poland’s Ministry of Culture, and the Lithuanian Diplomacy Star. In May 2024 he was invested with the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
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 his work as a papal biographer and the experiences that led to it, Lessons in Hope — My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II. His most recent book, To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II was published in October 2022, the year of the Council’s sixtieth anniversary. It has since been translated into French, Polish, and Spanish.
For the past 32 years, Mr. Weigel has led the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society. This seminar brings together European and American students to Kraków, Poland, to study Catholic Social Doctrine. Centered around John Paul II’s encyclical Centesimus Annus, students explore a wide variety of topics touching on the moral and cultural renewal of twenty-first century politics.
The Tertio Millennio Seminar boasts an alumni network of over 1,000 individuals, including EPPC President Ryan T. Anderson, Bishops William Joensen of Des Moines and Robert McClory of Gary; the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Patrick Kelly; and numerous priests, religious, academics, and leaders in business and public life.
Mr. Weigel’s weekly syndicated column, “The Catholic Difference” continues to be the one of the most widely circulated Catholic press columns in the world. Syndicated by the Archdiocese of Denver, it appears weekly in 91 publications in five countries.
In addition to his prolific writing, Mr. Weigel annually undertakes an extensive program of lectures in the United States and abroad, speaking to Legatus chapters, colleges and universities, parishes, diocesan events, and various academic conferences. Since 2022, Weigel has been visiting professor at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas, the Angelicum, in Rome.
In 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023, Mr. Weigel worked in several capacities at Synods in Rome. There, he spearheaded the publication of “Letters from the Synod”, which reported on Synod activities while offering commentary by scholars, lay people, consecrated religious, and Church leaders on the issues under discussion in the Synod Hall.
Since 1999 Mr. Weigel has been Senior Vatican Analyst for NBC News.
George Weigel continues to be a leading voice in shaping the future direction of the Catholic Church and the Church’s engagement with the pressing domestic and international challenges of our day. His immense impact during his time at the Ethics and Public Policy Center is undeniable. EPPC thanks George for 35 incredible years and looks forward to many more to come.
