Meet CNN's new Vatican Correspondent

From being referred to by Pope Francis as ‘naughty’ for a joke he told, to the serious business of being Vatican correspondent in a changing world, Christopher Lamb R'01 has had many great experiences since leaving Worth.

As Vatican Correspondent for the catholic newspaper The Tablet for the last 15 years Christopher has gained a deep knowledge of the Pope, the catholic church and religious affairs in general. He has been a regular contributor to the BBC Radio 4 Sunday and Today programmes and in 2020 wrote the book The Outsider: Pope Francis and His Battle to Reform the Church, a fascinating insight into politics within the Vatican. In an exciting announcement last week it was confirmed that Christopher will become the new Vatican correspondent for CNN, the US news station. 

On hearing the news of this new chapter in his career we caught up with Christopher who told us, “I am delighted to be taking up this role and to tell the story of what's happening in the Church at such a pivotal moment. Whether it's the migrant crisis, the environment or the synod, covering the Vatican during the Pope Francis era has been fascinating and I'm looking forward to telling this story to a global audience".

Christopher told us that his favourite moment as a correspondent so far was meeting the Pope on board the plane to Egypt when he told him a joke that could have gone either way. The Pope laughed and replied 'sei cattivo' ('you're naughty'), "it was a relief that he saw the funny side" he added. 

Travelling with the Pope is one of the highlights of Christopher's role and getting to see the Church's work in different countries across the globe and the variety of political contexts it operates in. He says "I have focused on the reforms that Francis has been making, including a greater role for women, and the emphasis on a model of the church that serves the most marginalised".

Looking back at his time in the School, Christopher says, "I'm always grateful for my time at Worth for giving me some of the foundations for doing this kind of work, from being taught Theology by Fr Christopher Jamison or being opened up to elements of the church universal by Fr Martin McGee." After leaving Worth, he studied Journalism at the University of the Arts in London and then went on to gain a 1st in Theology at the University of Durham.

We wish him the very best of luck in his new role.