Senior Vatican analyst to discuss papacy of Francis I

John Allen, senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and senior Vatican analyst for CNN, will discuss “Behind the Headlines: Pope Francis and His New Vision for the Catholic Church” when he presents a lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29 in the Bazarsky Lecture Hall.

Allen is the author of seven bestselling books on the Vatican and Catholic affairs, and writes frequently on the Church for major national and international publications. He’s also a popular speaker on Catholic affairs, both in the United States and abroad.

The London Tablet has called Allen “the most authoritative writer on Vatican affairs in the English language,” and renowned papal biographer George Weigel has called him “the best Anglophone Vatican reporter ever.” When Allen was called upon to put the first question to Pope Benedict XVI aboard the papal plane en route to the United States in April 2008, the Vatican spokesperson said to the pope: “Holy Father, this man needs no introduction.”

Allen’s work is admired across ideological divides. The late liberal commentator Father Andrew Greeley called his writing “indispensable,” while the late Father Richard John Neuhaus, a conservative, called Allen’s reporting “possibly the best source of information on the Vatican published in the United States.” His weekly Internet column, “All Things Catholic,” is widely read as a source of insight on the global Church.

Allen’s most recent book is “People of Hope,” an extended interview with Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. He divides his time between Rome and his home in Denver, Colo. Allen grew up in western Kansas, and holds a master’s degree in religious studies from the University of Kansas.