LATROBE, PA – Saint Vincent College made history by serving as the first US venue for the American release of “Pope Leo XIV: The Biography,” hosting author Elise Ann Allen for an evening of conversation and discussion on April 29 in the Fred M. Rogers Center on campus.
Allen, Rome correspondent for Crux, is the only journalist to have secured an extensive one-on-one interview with Pope Leo XIV for a full-scale biography. Her book, published by Image, an imprint of Penguin Random House Christian, is the first substantive biography of the new pope and has already drawn significant attention in Catholic and mainstream media circles.
The event placed Saint Vincent College and western Pennsylvania at the center of international interest surrounding Pope Leo. It offered attendees a rare and timely look inside the life, leadership and priorities of the first American pope through the perspective of one of the world’s most respected Catholic journalists.
“Saint Vincent, the first Benedictine Abbey in the United States, is pleased to host the first biographer of Pope Leo, Elise Ann Allen,” said Rt. Rev. Martin de Porres Bartel, O.S.B., S’85, archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey and chancellor of Saint Vincent College. “What an honor to have her on campus for the release of her unprecedented, detailed and intimate look at our current Holy Father.”
Dr. Lucas Briola, C’13, Endowed Chair in Catholic Thought and Culture and director of the Saint Vincent Center for Catholic Thought and Culture, which hosted the program, noted that “her book will play a key role in setting the tone for this already historic pontificate. Saint Vincent is honored to serve as the first place in the United States where she will launch it. Given our own rich Catholic and Benedictine mission, I can think of no better place.”
Allen first met the future pope in 2018 when he was serving as bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru and followed his career for years before securing the interviews at the heart of the biography. At the event, she described Pope Leo as calm, deeply relational and guided by humility—a leader who prioritizes listening and moving with deliberation. She also touched on what may become a significant focus of his pontificate: a forthcoming encyclical on the moral and human dimensions of artificial intelligence, addressing questions of truth, human connection and dignity in an era of rapid technological change.
The biography draws on extensive original reporting and includes transcripts from the pope’s first official press meeting, accounts from the 2025 conclave, and a detailed history of his childhood, family and ministry. Pope Francis biographer Austen Ivereigh has called it “an extraordinary achievement … a masterful and amazingly intimate portrait of our new pope.”
The program drew students, faculty, members of the monastic community, local clergy and community members. Audience questions ranged from the pope’s personal manner to the broader significance of the first American pontiff for the global Church. Joining Allen on the panel were Dr. Elaine Bennett, dean of the Saint Vincent College School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Father Edward Mazich, O.S.B., S’98, rector of Saint Vincent Seminary.
Copies of “Pope Leo XIV: The Biography” were available for purchase at the event, where Allen signed books and greeted attendees. The biography is also available online and at the Saint Vincent Bookstore.
