The Pope Who Rescued St. Peter's Basilica from Collapse (Interview w/ Author Wayne Kalayjian)
The Popecast: A History of the PapacyShow Notes
Wayne Kalayjian is author of the new book Saving Michelangelo’s Dome: How Three Mathematicians and a Pope Sparked an Architectural Revolution, the incredible story of how precarious cracking throughout the dome of St. Peter's Basilica prompted an unprecedented collision of the greatest minds in construction, science, math, and the Catholic Church.
GET THE BOOK: Saving Michelangelo's Dome
PATREON: https://patreon.com/thepopecast
NEWSLETTER: https://popes.substack.com
FB / Twitter / Instagram: @thepopecast
EMAIL: [email protected]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Wayne Kalayjian is a civil and structural engineer who has designed buildings, bridges, towers, and tunnels on five continents. He knows how they are built, why they stand up, how to keep them safe, and why—on occasion—they fall down.
Wayne also lectures at the University of Southern California and is an engineering expert for the California Department of Consumer Affairs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and art history from Tufts University, a master’s degree in structural and earthquake engineering from Stanford University, and a master’s degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 1995, Wayne engineered the move of an historic lighthouse on Cape Cod National Seashore. Just as the mathematicians in his book saved Michelangelo’s dome from collapse, he used those same scientific principles to save Highland Light from falling into the sea. Since then, his one-of-a-kind drawings have been on permanent display at the lighthouse museum in North Truro, Massachusetts. Wayne was raised in New England and lives in Southern California.
More from The Popecast: A History of the Papacy
We're joined this week by Isaac Smith, Director of Amici Vaticani, a non-profit cultural association that's designing and commissioning a custom papal tiara for our first American pontiff, Pope Leo XIV. Click here to learn more and donate to the project: https://www.amicivaticani.org/donate ------Where to find The Popecast: SUPPORT + NEWSLETTER: https://popes.substack.com YOUTUBE: @therealpopecast FB / Twitter / Instagram: @thepopecast EMAIL: [email protected] --POPECAST MERCH: https://the-popecast-store.creator-spring.com
Enough with the AI audio versions of the pope's new encyclical. Those all seemed to rather largely miss the point, so here's a fully human read-through of Pope Leo XIV's brand new encyclical on artificial intelligence, human dignity, integral human development, and so much more. -- READ THE DOCUMENT FOR FREE: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html -- Where to find The Popecast: SUPPORT + NEWSLETTER: https://popes.substack.com YOUTUBE: @therealpopecast FB / Twitter / Instagram: @thepopecast EMAIL: [email protected] -- POPECAST MERCH: https://the-popecast-store.creator-spring.com
Katie McGrady – an author, podcaster, radio host, and Vatican Analyst for CNN – joins the show once again, this time to unpack Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. We get into everything from The Masters to the pontiff quoting Gandalf...maybe as a result of seeing a Katie's tweet? READ THE DOCUMENT: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.htmlFollow Katie: - Ave Explores Podcast: https://aveexplores.fireside.fm - Twitter/X: https://x.com/KatiePMcGrady - Substack: https://katieprejeanmcgrady.substack.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiepmcgrady -- Where to find The Popecast: SUPPORT + NEWSLETTER: https://popes.substack.comYOUTUBE: @therealpopecast FB / Twitter / Instagram: @thepopecastEMAIL: [email protected] MERCH: https://the-popecast-store.creator-spring.com
Jonathan Liedl, Managing Editor of the National Catholic Register, joins the show to talk about his on-location documentary about how Pope Leo XIV's nearly two decades in Peru shaped his priesthood, and now his papacy. WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY: https://youtu.be/ziN1QrXh5vs?si=9zKoxhTHzOT_eXGM Follow Jonathan: https://x.com/JLLiedl -- Where to find The Popecast: SUPPORT + NEWSLETTER: https://popes.substack.com YOUTUBE: @therealpopecast FB / Twitter / Instagram: @thepopecast EMAIL: [email protected] -- POPECAST MERCH: https://the-popecast-store.creator-spring.com
On his first anniversary, a reflection on Pope Leo XIV's election as Bishop of Rome. Where were you on that day? What do you remember? -- Where to find The Popecast: SUPPORT + NEWSLETTER: https://popes.substack.com YOUTUBE: @therealpopecast FB / Twitter / Instagram: @thepopecast EMAIL: [email protected] -- POPECAST MERCH: https://the-popecast-store.creator-spring.com