Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center
George Weigel is a Catholic theologian who is known as one of America’s leading public intellectuals. He is currently the Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Here, he also holds the William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies.
The Ethics and Public Policy Center
The Ethics and Public Policy Center is based in Washington, DC. Mr. Weigel was President of the center from 1989 until June 1996. During this time, he led a comprehensive, ecumenical and inter-religious program of research and publication on both foreign and domestic policy issues.
Biography of Pope St. John Paul II
Perhaps, Mr. Weigel is best known for his two-volume biography of Pope St. John Paul II, which has been translated widely and acclaimed internationally. His New York Times bestselling works, Witness to Hope (1999), and its sequel, The End and the Beginning (2010) have received significant attention. In 2017, Weigel published a memoir, Lessons in Hope — My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II, detailing his experiences as a papal biographer.
Author and Editor
With authoring or editing more than thirty other books under his belt, Weigel has a wealth of published works to his name. Many of these have been translated into other languages. These include but are not limited to:
- The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics Without God (2005)
- Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church (2013)
- Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches (2013)
- Letters to a Young Catholic (2015)
- The Fragility of Order: Catholic Reflections on Turbulent Times (2018)
- The Next Pope: The Office of Peter and a Church in Mission (2020)
- Not Forgotten: Elegies for, and Reminiscences of, a Diverse Cast of Characters, Most of Them Admirable (2021)
Columnist and Analyst
Alongside his books, Weigel’s essays, op-ed columns, and reviews regularly appear in major opinion journals and newspapers across the United States. A frequent guest on television and radio, he is the Senior Vatican Analyst for NBC News. His weekly column, “The Catholic Difference,” is syndicated to eighty-five newspapers and magazines in seven countries.
Education and Honors
Mr. Weigel received his B.A. from St. Mary’s Seminary and University located in Baltimore and attained his M.A. from the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto. He has received nineteen honorary doctorates in various fields including divinity, philosophy, law, and social science. He has also been awarded the Papal Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, Poland’s Gloria Artis Gold Medal, and Lithuania’s Diplomacy Star.
