When the white smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel chimney on May 8, 2025, signaling the election of a new pope, the air in St. Peter’s Square seemed to crackle. I was there, shoulder to shoulder with journalists from every major outlet, each eager to be the first to spin the moment into a headline. The crowd erupted in cheers, pilgrims wept and cameras whirred. For Catholics, though, it was not simply a matter of history but of faith. A man had been chosen to stand in the line of Peter, to be our Holy Father.
In those frenzied hours, I joined my friend Katie Prejean McGrady in offering live coverage for CNN. As the world strained to comprehend what it meant that an American, Cardinal Robert Prevost, had become Pope Leo XIV, I witnessed Katie doing what she does best: cutting through noise with clarity, candor and faith. That same voice rings out in her contribution to “When the White Smoke Clears: A Guide to Pope Leo XIV’s Early Days” (Ascension, 2025).
The book itself is a kind of early compass to navigate Pope Leo’s pontificate, published in the immediate wake of the conclave. It gathers essays from familiar and trusted guides — Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, Dr. Edward Sri, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio and others — who sketch the outlines of Pope Leo’s biography, reflect on his first words and gestures, and help the faithful situate this new papacy within the unbroken tradition of the Church. It is not, nor does it claim to be, a definitive biography or sweeping theological synthesis. Rather, it is a set of meditations — snapshots in prose — that invite Catholics to pray, ponder and respond.
‘Let Leo be Leo’
Katie’s chapter, “Beyond the Media Storm: Navigating Papal Coverage Wisely,” stands out precisely because of her unique position as both a Catholic communicator and a veteran of the media circus. She knows the way secular outlets flatten papal teaching into political categories. She knows the temptation Catholics face when every sound bite becomes a referendum: Is the pope “liberal” or “conservative”? “Francis II” or “Benedict restored”? Katie reminds us that these are the wrong questions to ask. Her point is not to scold Catholics for paying attention to the news, but to remind us that if we filter the Holy Father primarily through headlines, we risk missing the spiritual reality of his ministry.
Reading her essay brought me back to those hours on air with her. While producers clamored for angles and quick takes, Katie insisted on patience. “Let Leo be Leo,” she said over and over again. She reminded viewers that Catholics don’t relate to the pope as pundits to a politician but as children to a father. That’s exactly the posture she proposes in this book. She encourages us to receive Pope Leo’s words with trust and to remember that the Church is not governed by the logic of cable news but by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
This contribution is especially timely because Leo XIV himself is such a curiosity to the media. An American pope! A missionary formed in Peru! An Augustinian friar with a South Side Chicago accent! The temptation is strong to treat him as a novelty. But Katie helps readers to resist this reductionism. She places Leo in continuity with Peter, reminding us that every pope is first and foremost the successor of the fisherman who heard Christ say, “Feed my sheep.” That is the context in which our faith should receive him.
The other essays in the book reinforce this same truth in complementary ways. Fr. Mike Schmitz reflects on the ordinary, sometimes messy way God works through human processes, even conclaves, to accomplish extraordinary things. Jeff Cavins frames Pope Leo’s first homilies as windows into his pastoral heart. Dr. Edward Sri identifies key themes already visible in his opening days, especially the pope’s Christ-centered vision for the Church. Together, these voices offer readers an antidote to speculation: They invite Catholics to meet Leo XIV not as a political figure but as a spiritual shepherd.
An invitation to discipleship
But I return again to Katie’s chapter, because it is the one that addresses most directly the challenge Catholics will face in the months and years ahead. Every papacy unfolds under the glare of media scrutiny. Misunderstandings are inevitable. Sound bites will be weaponized. The temptation will be to grow weary, cynical or combative. Katie’s advice is bracing in its simplicity: pray for the pope, listen with charity and refuse to let headlines dictate your faith.
That counsel is not naïve; it is deeply realistic. Katie knows, as anyone who has been in a newsroom knows, how fleeting the media storm really is. What endures is not the take but the testimony. In reminding Catholics to stay rooted in prayer and fidelity, she gives us tools not only to survive the next controversy but to thrive as witnesses to Christ in the midst of it.
“When the White Smoke Clears” is more than a guide to Pope Leo XIV’s early days. It is, at its heart, an invitation to discipleship. It asks every Catholic: How will you respond to the new Holy Father? Will you measure him by the standards of the world or by the standard of faith? Will you let your imagination be shaped by cable news or by the Gospel?
