This week, the Vatican is relatively quiet, as Pope Francis and the top Roman Curia officials make their Lenten retreat. As he has done since 2021, the pope has asked each official to make their retreat individually, centered on private prayer and spiritual exercises. Austen Ivereigh’s latest book, First Belong to God: On Retreat with Pope Francis, helps all people of faith do just that. The author joins host Colleen Dulle this week to discuss his proposed retreat, as well as his experience covering Pope Francis both as a journalist and now—with his latest book—as a spiritual writer. He also shares his plans for his third biography of the present pope, focussed on the pope’s trajectory since the Covid-19 pandemic. Find the full episode page and links for further reading here. Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices