Thomas Reese

Washington, D.C.

Senior Analyst at Religion News Service

#Jesuit priest, Senior Analyst @RNS. Previously w @NCRonline, @Americamag & @USCIRF, author of Inside the Vatican. Links not = agree. Summer @LoyolaMarymount

Articles

Leo XIV, an American and Peruvian pope

6 days ago | religionnews.com | Thomas Reese

(RNS) — The Holy Spirit surprised us Thursday (May 8) by electing Robert Prevost, an Illinois native who is also a citizen of Peru. For Vatican observers, Pope Leo XIV is the biggest shock since the last conclave, when an Argentine Jesuit who was on nobody’s list became Pope Francis. How did this happen? Prior to the 2013 conclave, there were, in my mind, two certitudes about papal elections: No Jesuit would be elected, and no American would be elected.
'Floored, stunned and full of hope': Reactions to election of Pope Leo XIV

1 week ago | ncronline.org | Barbara Reid |Phyllis Zagano |Thomas Reese |Dan Misleh

Surprise, hope, excitement and pride were reflected in many of the initial reactions to Cardinal Robert Prevost on May 8 emerging on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica as Pope Leo XIV. Prevost, a 69-year-old Chicago-born Augustinian friar who has spent much of his ecclesial career abroad, is the first pope born in the United States, a development once thought to be near impossible among Vatican experts.
In the papal conclave, expectations and momentum matter

1 week ago | religionnews.com | Thomas Reese

(RNS) — During presidential primary season, American commentators are always talking about whether a presidential candidate is meeting expectations and whether the candidate has momentum. Even if a candidate wins a primary, if he or she does not win by as big a margin as expected, the media will not see it as a win. On the other hand, a nobody who loses in a surprisingly close race will be seen as a potential winner in future primaries. Momentum also matters in presidential primaries.
The papal election could produce a surprise. Unless it doesn't.

1 week ago | religionnews.com | Thomas Reese

(RNS) — Don’t believe anything you read about who is going to be the next pope — even what you read in this column. Conclaves have a way of surprising us. This is especially true this time out, when the largest number of cardinals ever will be voting, and few of them know each other. The cardinals don’t even know what is happening. How could the media? Most prognosticators, including gambling sites, are predicting that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, will be the next pope.
Vatican prepares Sistine Chapel for election of a new pope. Here's what happens in a conclave

1 week ago | ncronline.org | Christopher White |Thomas Reese

When a pope resigns or dies, church law mandates that cardinals gather in Rome within 15 to 20 days to elect a new pope. The cardinals decided to meet on May 7, 16 days after the death of Pope Francis because the Vatican needed time to prepare for the 133 cardinal electors, the largest conclave in history.
Before the conclave, cardinals will talk and politick

2 weeks ago | ncronline.org | Thomas Reese

When a pope resigns or dies, church law mandates that cardinals gather in Rome within 15 to 20 days to elect a new pope. For serious reasons, the beginning of the conclave can be delayed an additional five days, but not longer. In the age of jet travel, this provides enough time for cardinals from all over the world to get to Rome, unless their government bars them from going.
What happens in a papal conclave?

2 weeks ago | religionnews.com | Thomas Reese

(RNS) — When a pope resigns or dies, church law mandates that cardinals gather in Rome within 15 to 20 days to elect a new pope. The cardinals decided to meet on May 7, 16 days after the death of Pope Francis because the Vatican needed time to prepare for the 135 cardinal electors, the largest conclave in history.
Fr. Thomas Reese: I loved and supported Pope Francis, though he was not perfect. | National Catholic Reporter

3 weeks ago | ncronline.org | Thomas Reese

Ordinary Catholics saw Pope Francis as a compassionate pastor who cared about people, especially the poor and the marginalized, writes Thomas Reese.
Before picking a new pope, the cardinals will politick

3 weeks ago | americamagazine.org | Thomas Reese

(RNS) — When a pope resigns or dies, church law mandates that cardinals gather in Rome within 15 to 20 days to elect a new pope. For serious reasons, the beginning of the conclave can be delayed an additional five days, but not longer. In the age of jet travel, this provides enough time for cardinals from all over the world to get to Rome, unless their government bars them from going.
Before the conclave, cardinals will talk and politick

3 weeks ago | religionnews.com | Thomas Reese

(RNS) — When a pope resigns or dies, church law mandates that cardinals gather in Rome within 15 days to elect a new pope. For serious reasons, the beginning of the conclave can be delayed an additional five days, but not longer. In the age of jet travel, this provides enough time for cardinals from all over the world to get to Rome, unless their government bars them from going.