Show Notes
This week, Jesuitical co-host Ashley McKinless and producer Sebastian Gomes speak to Michael W. Higgins about the spiritual master, Father Henri Nouwen (1932-1996). They explore Nouwen’s “wounded healer” approach to ministry, his brokenness and vulnerability, and his impact on contemporary Catholic thought.
In “Signs of the Times,” Ashley and Zac discuss Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Pope Leo, plans for a border wall through a pilgrimage site, a cosmetics mogul turned Catholic priest, and when customer service hung up on Pope Leo.
00:00 Who is Henri Nouwen?
2:51 Pope Leo meets Marco Rubio
7:42 A border wall through a pilgrimage site?
10:40 A cosmetics mogul turned Catholic priest
12:39 Customer service hangs up on Pope Leo
15:40 You need to know Henri Nouwen
18:31 Henri Nouwen was an enigma
25:14 Nouwen's writings
31:23 How Nouwen understood priesthood
36:54 Intimacy, celibacy and homosexuality
41:17 Nouwen, the wounded healer
44:52 Good ministry isn't performative
48:39 How Nouwen prayed
58:00 Faith sharing: overcoming performative piety
Links:
Pope Leo XIV’s First Year
Pope Leo meets with Marco Rubio amid Trump’s personal attacks
Catholic diocese fights Trump administration plan to seize pilgrimage site for border wall Cosmetics millionaire turned seminarian, he’d give fortune ‘back a million times’ for Jesus
Story of customer service agent hanging up on Leo shows pope’s ‘normal’ side
"Genius Born of Anguish: The Life and Legacy of Henri Nouwen"
2026 Henri Nouwen Conference: "Longing for Home: The Prophetic Witness of Henri Nouwen in a Wounded World"
Henri Nouwen Society
Henri Nouwen: How to (actually) pray without ceasing
The Monk and The Cripple by Henri Nouwen, 1980
Podcast Deep Dive: The first American pope—how it happened and what it means
Performative piety: Why liturgy is not a space for self-expression
Support Jesuitical by becoming a digital subscriber Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Jesuitical
Where do U.S. politics and Catholicism intersect? On this week’s roundtable episode, “Jesuitical” host Ashley McKinless speaks with America’s chief correspondent, Kevin Clarke, and Father Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and senior analyst at Religion News Service, about today’s “signs of the times.” Together, Ashley, Kevin and Father Reese discuss Pope Leo’s health post-cancer surgery, immigrant detention as a religious liberty issue, the death penalty and how these all tie into how Catholics are feeling about politics ahead of the midterm elections.
This week on the “Jesuitical” podcast, Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis speak with National Public Radio’s Scott Detrow about Pope Leo’s cancer diagnosis and Scott’s new book, American Pope: Leo XIV's Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City. Scott shares his initial reaction to the pope’s lung surgery this week and provides insights into Leo’s medical history. Then, Scott, Zac and Ashley follow Robert Prevost’s incredible journey from Chicago to Peru to the Vatican and discuss what makes the first American pope uniquely qualified to lead the Catholic Church.
This week on “Jesuitical,” hosts Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless speak with Joseph de Viveiros, C.R., about the pastoral consequences of Pope Francis’ groundbreaking 2016 document on family life, “Amoris Laetitia.” Father Joseph is a priest of the Congregation of the Resurrection, and chaplain for the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board in North Bay, Ontario. As Pope Leo gathers bishops from around the world at the Vatican to review the document’s implementation, Zac, Ashley and Father Joseph discuss the complex challenges facing families and young couples, and how a lot of work needs to be done, especially by priests, to realize Pope Francis’ vision.
This week on Jesuitical, Colleen Dulle joins hosts Zac Davis and Sebasian Gomes to discuss Pope Leo’s recent visit to France, including his messages on assisted dying, European identity and the role of the Catholic Church in a secular country. Colleen also reflects on her experience of traveling with the pope for the first time.
This week on the “Jesuitical” podcast, Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis speak with Rachel Lu about the beatification of Fulton Sheen, the American archbishop who was famous for his media evangelism in the mid-20th century. Rachel is a senior editor at Law and Liberty and a regular contributor to the National Review and America Magazine. Together they discuss Sheen’s charisma, cultural influence, and his lesser known political philosophy which defended both the public role of religion and the separation of church and state.