Worthians report on the Pope's funeral

There were several Worthians involved in the global coverage of the Pope's funeral in Rome on Saturday 26th April. For those who tuned in to the BBC, Austen Ivereigh G'84 was alongside Reeta Chakrabati talking the UK audience through the ceremony. Also in Rome, but presenting for US networks, were Christopher Lamb R'01, Vatican Correspondent for CNN, and James Longman B'05, Chief International Correspondent for ABC News gave a summary on Good Morning America.

Austen had a close relationship with Pope Francis and has written some key biographies which are well worth a read, particularly The Great Reformer; Francis and the making of a radical Pope (Picador 2015), and Wounded Shepherd; Pope Francis and his struggle to convert the Catholic Church (Henry Holt & Co 2019). Austen's latest book First Belong to God: On Retreat with Pope Francis (Messenger 2025) has a foreword written by the Pope, and they co-authored the bestselling reflections on the post-pandemic world, Let Us Dream: the Path to a Better Future (Simon & Schuster 2020). 

After several years as Rome Correspondent to The Tablet, the international Catholic news weekly, Christopher joined CNN in 2023. He has spent many hours with Pope Francis on his numerous overseas trips, and most recently kept vigil outside the hospital where the Pope spent several weeks before his death.

And now the process of electing a new Pope begins. and we will be watching with interest as former Prep School Worthian, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe WPS'58 will enter the conclave next week as one of the newly appointed voting cardinals.