No supreme pontiff, not even Pope Francis, who liked to be interviewed as pope, has stopped to speak to the press in such an ad hoc way. In-flight papal press conferences, begun by Pope St. John Paul II, are similar but they are infrequent and more controlled.
When the Vicar of Christ Joins the Media Scrum
COMMENTARY: What are the advantages, perils and unwanted consequences of Pope Leo XIV’s Tuesday evening ‘doorstep’ exchanges with the press at Castel Gandolfo?
It has become a new papal convention.
Every Tuesday evening, as Pope Leo XIV departs for the Vatican after his now routine day of rest at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo just outside Rome, he will stop and chat with the press.
Reporters ask the Holy Father questions relating to whatever is in the news, usually to do with world politics or the Catholic Church, and the Pope spontaneously responds with unrehearsed answers. The format resembles a “doorstep scrum” or “press gaggle,” which is common for politicians or celebrities when engaging with the media.
For a pope, however, this is a first. No supreme pontiff, not even Pope Francis, who liked to be interviewed as pope, has stopped to speak to the press in such an ad hoc way. In-flight papal press conferences, begun by Pope St. John Paul II, are similar but they …