Michael Sean Winters

Washington, D.C.

Political Columnist at National Catholic Reporter

Michael Sean Winters writes for the National Catholic Reporter and The Tablet.

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Articles

HABEMUS PAPAM: Leo XIV is 1st American pope chosen to lead Catholic Church

6 days ago | ncronline.org | Michael Sean Winters |Christopher White |James V. Grimaldi |Soli Salgado

A Chicago-born Augustinian friar has been elected the first American pope in the history of the Roman Catholic church. Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, who heads the influential Vatican Dicastery for Bishops, walked out onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to the cheers of thousands of faithful gathering for the announcement at 7:15 p.m. Rome time today (April 8).
Prevost is new pope, an American cardinal committed to the reforms Pope Francis began

6 days ago | ncronline.org | Michael Sean Winters |James V. Grimaldi |Christopher White |Heidi Schlumpf

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 8, 2025. (AP/Markus Schreiber) The first American pope! So many people thought holding a U.S. passport was an insuperable barrier to the election of Augustinian Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, but the College of Cardinals thought differently.
Prevost is new pope, an American cardinal committed to the reforms Pope Francis began

6 days ago | ncronline.org | Michael Sean Winters |James V. Grimaldi |Christopher White |Soli Salgado

The first American pope! So many people thought holding a U.S. passport was an insuperable barrier to the election of Augustinian Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, but the College of Cardinals thought differently. Prevost was the least American among the American cardinals, having spent most of his ministry as a priest and bishop in Peru, and in Rome as the general of the Augustinian order.
Habemus papam: Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost takes name of Leo XIV

6 days ago | ncronline.org | James V. Grimaldi |Heidi Schlumpf |Christopher White |Michael Sean Winters

Robert Prevost was born on Sept. 14, 1955, in a hospital founded by the Sisters of Mercy on Chicago's South Side. Four years ago, facing bankruptcy, the nuns sold Mercy Hospital to a technology firm. Growing up, Prevost attended St. Mary of the Assumption Parish. The parish became too expensive for the Chicago Archdiocese to maintain in the early 2010s. The parish buildings were closed and put up for sale, and the parish merged with another in 2011.
Pilgrims gasp at earlier than expected smoke, but still no pope

6 days ago | ncronline.org | Rhina Guidos |Camillo Barone |Michael Sean Winters

Help us raise $300,000 for NCR!We have raised $167,738 from 896 supporters. We are 56% of the way to our goal! Isabel Segovia Severin traveled from Viña Del Mar, Chile, in hopes of seeing white smoke and the new pope. "We leave tomorrow so we hope that today is the day," she said on May 8, the second day of the conclave. (NCR photo/Olivia Bardo) On Wednesday, the black smoke was late. On Thursday, the black smoke was early.
Americans in St. Peter's Square, surprised by new pope, express their hopes

6 days ago | ncronline.org | Camillo Barone |James V. Grimaldi |Christopher White |Michael Sean Winters

As the bells of St. Peter's Basilica tolled, signaling the election of a new pope, American Catholics gathered in Rome expressed both surprise and hope for the future of the church. Among them was Lucy Wade, a 20-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri, who was in awe of the historic moment. "I did not expect this," Wade said, her eyes fixed on the crowds flooding St. Peter's Square.
Black smoke again on morning of conclave's 2nd day signals no pope elected yet

6 days ago | ncronline.org | Christopher White |Michael Sean Winters

Help us raise $300,000 for NCR!We have raised $165,263 from 858 supporters. We are 55% of the way to our goal! Black smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel during the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP/Andrew Medichini) After three rounds of voting, cardinals have yet to elect a successor to Pope Francis.
Editorial: The doors are sealed. We pray that God is in the conclave

1 week ago | ncronline.org | Michael Sean Winters |Camillo Barone |James V. Grimaldi |Rhina Guidos

Help us raise $300,000 for NCR!We have raised $165,263 from 858 supporters. We are 55% of the way to our goal! A giant screen shows Swiss Guards standing as the door of the Sistine Chapel is being closed, during the conclave to elect a new pope, at the Vatican May 7. Crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square as 133 cardinals eligible to vote entered the chapel.
Cardinals poised to pursue the more inclusive, open church championed by Pope Francis

1 week ago | ncronline.org | James V. Grimaldi |Soli Salgado |Michael Sean Winters

The Roman Catholic Church is at a crossroads and today 133 men have a choice. Will they continue down a path blazed by the first Latin American pope toward a more inclusive, open, transparent church where lay men and women hold positions of authority in the church's administrative body? Or will they pull back from Pope Francis' initiative known as synodality? No contender has emerged as a front-runner as the cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel.
Typographers react to Pope Francis' botched memorial

1 week ago | ncronline.org | Mario Garcia |Mario T. García |Michael Sean Winters

Help us raise $300,000 for NCR!We have raised $165,263 from 858 supporters. We are 55% of the way to our goal! The name "Franciscus" is seen engraved on the tomb of Pope Francis inside the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. The interletter spacing, or kerning, of the engraving has come under scrutiny from typographers and the general public alike.