The first interview granted by Leo XIV will be published in a book on September 18, 2025, announced journalist Elise Ann Allen. She was able to speak with the Pope for three hours earlier this summer.
Journalist Elise Ann Allen spoke with the Pontiff for three hours this summer, covering a wide range of personal, ecclesial, and geopolitical topics.
The American journalist, who is the Rome correspondent for the Catholic website Crux, said on September 8 that the interview would appear in her biography of the pope, who was elected on May 8.
The book, written in Spanish, is titled “Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century.” It will be published first in Spanish by Penguin Peru on September 18, with English and Portuguese versions planned for early 2026.
On Sunday, September 14 — Robert Francis Prevost's 70th birthday — the first excerpts from the interview will be released.
An American Vatican reporter
The interview was conducted by Elise Ann Allen, Crux's correspondent in Rome. In recent months, the Vatican reporter has published numerous articles on the “Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.” Pope Francis suppressed this Peru-based organization a few weeks before his death, putting an end to years of scandals. A former bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, and close collaborator of Francis, Leo XIV played a role in Rome's sanctions against the congregation.
Peruvian journalist Paola Ugaz was the first to denounce the abuses committed by the Sodalitium in her country. She considers the accusations of mishandling sexual abuse cases in Peru against Leo XIV to be “an operation by the real abusers to discredit him.”
Paola Ugaz and Elise Ann Allen, who investigated together, were among the journalists whom Pope Leo XIV personally greeted during the press audience on May 12.
3 hours of interviews
Elise Ann Allen explains that she interviewed the Pope during two sessions of an hour and a half each in July. These interviews took place at the summer residence in Castel Gandolfo and then in the papal apartment of the Holy Office in the Vatican.
The topics covered include the Pontiff's life, from his childhood in Chicago to the conclave, his relationship with Francis, his spirituality, but also major geopolitical issues such as his view of the Ukrainian conflict and the Holy See's relations with China and the United States.
The interview also deals with controversial issues within the Church, such as its relationship with LGBT minorities, the place of women, synodality, the abuse crisis, and the management of Vatican finances.
Elise Ann and her husband John, also a Vatican reporter, have had a relationship with Leo for a number of years, as John explained in this article shortly after the Pope's election.
