Elms College will welcome Christopher White, a renowned Vatican journalist and author of one of the first biographies of Pope Leo XIV, to campus. White will be the keynote speaker for the Reverend Hugh Crean Distinguished Lecture & the Sister Mary Dooley Lecture, which will be combined this year and take place on Thursday, March 19.
White’s lecture titled, “From Missionary Priest to Missionary Pope: Inside the Election of the First U.S. Pope,” will discuss the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV in May 2025.
When: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Where: Elms College Alumnae Library Theater
The lecture is open to all; registration is at this link.
Christopher is the author of Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy (2025). He is a former Vatican and national correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and Crux and joins us from Georgetown University, where he is the Associate Director for Strategic Initiatives and Senior Fellow of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.
White said, “There’s been no more exciting — or surprising — news story over the last year than the election of a pope from the United States. I very much look forward to the opportunity to visit Elms College and the chance to pull back a curtain a bit to help explore the dynamics of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.”
Elms College President Dr. Harry Dumay said, “The election of the first pope from the United States is an exciting time for American Catholicism in general, and for US theologians and scholars of Catholic thought in particular. In keeping with the traditions of both the Reverend Hugh Crean and the Sr. Mary Dooley lecture series, we are pleased to welcome author Christopher White as he shares his first-hand account of the Church’s contemporary history.”
Since their inception, the Crean and Dooley Lectures have brought prominent scholars and thought leaders to Elms College to engage in conversations about. This year’s lecture is sponsored jointly by the St. Augustine Center for Ethics, Religion, and Culture and the Institute for Theology and Pastoral Studies.
The annual Rev. Hugh Crean Distinguished Lecture was established through an endowment made by B. John (Jack) and Colette Dill to honor the legacy of Rev. Hugh Crean, recognizing Crean’s academic work at Elms College and his pastoral ministry throughout the Diocese of Springfield and the entire region.
The Sister Mary Dooley Lecture was established by Elms College to recognize the tremendous contributions of Sister Mary Dooley ‘44, the sixth president of Elms College, who made significant contributions to the college, including adding intercollegiate sports.