This week on the “Jesuitical” podcast, Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis speak with National Public Radio’s Scott Detrow about Pope Leo’s cancer diagnosis and Scott’s new book, American Pope: Leo XIV's Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City. Scott shares his initial reaction to the pope’s lung surgery this week and provides insights into Leo’s medical history. Then, Scott, Zac and Ashley follow Robert Prevost’s incredible journey from Chicago to Peru to the Vatican and discuss what makes the first American pope uniquely qualified to lead the Catholic Church.

Chapters
00:00 Pope Leo's cancer diagnosis
2:02 A surprise conclave
4:18 Scott reacts to Leo's cancer
7:37 How Catholics in Chicago shaped Leo
13:45 Leo's leadership style
17:45 Leo's vision of the church
20:44 An unlikely bishop
29:56 A cardinal, not a bureaucrat
32:38 Did Francis prepare Prevost to be pope?
35:12 Pope Leo, the American
39:38 Open questions about Pope Leo

Links from the show:
Pope Leo diagnosed with lung cancer, Vatican announces: https://www.americamagazine.org/vatican-dispatch/2026/10/13/pope-leo-diagnosed-with-lung-cancer-vatican-announces
Pope Leo is walking, eating and receiving therapy after lung cancer surgery: https://www.americamagazine.org/vatican-dispatch/2026/10/14/pope-leo-lung-cancer-recovery-walking
Pope Leo has ‘resumed work’ three days after lung cancer surgery: https://www.americamagazine.org/vatican-dispatch/2026/10/15/pope-leo-cancer-lung-surgery-recovery-work
First photos of Pope Leo since surgery released by the Vatican: https://www.americamagazine.org/vatican-dispatch/2026/10/16/pope-leo-photo-hospital-mass-lung-cancer-surgery
What to know about Pope Leo’s cancer diagnosis: https://www.americamagazine.org/vatican-dispatch/2026/10/14/what-to-know-about-pope-leos-cancer-diagnosis
American Pope: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250446053/americanpope
No one expected Leo to be pope — except everyone who knew him as ‘Bob’: https://www.npr.org/2026/10/03/nx-s1-5987816/pope-leo-american-pope-book-excerpt
Sign up for our Vatican newsletter: https://www.americamagazine.org/sign-up-for-vatican-notebook-email-newsletter

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