AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

In Rome, Ignatius and his companions endure accusations, obtain public vindication and begin works of spiritual and practical service that anticipate the Society of Jesus. Da Câmara closes the story by tracing the Spiritual Exercises to Ignatius’ own experiences and describing how, through the years, he grew ever more able to find God in every moment.

About the Series
We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic.

The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed.

The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey.

"The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/

There aren’t many people on Earth more famous than the Pope. It can be easy to think that there’s not much new to learn about a person with that level of fame. But we think you’ll learn something on literally every page of a new biography of Pope Leo XIV, which is titled “American Pope: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City.”

The book is by two NPR journalists, Daniel Burke and Scott Detrow, and they’re our guests today. Daniel serves as NPR’s Senior Editor of Religion and Spirituality and Scott is a host of “All Things Considered.” “American Pope” is the first deeply researched and reported biography of Pope Leo, and it covers his entire life from childhood through the 2025 conclave. Daniel and Scott traveled to Peru and all over the United States to report this story, talking to dozens and dozens of people who knew Robert Prevost during all stages of his life. And their reporting shines through throughout the book, which is filled with vivid story after vivid story about Pope Leo gathered from these interviews, 70-year-old church bulletins, historical archives, and more. Host Mike Jordan Laskey found the biography to be a truly moving portrait of a priest, a missionary and a leader.

It was so fun to have Daniel and Scott on the show just before the book released on October 6. We know you’ll enjoy hearing their behind-the-scenes stories of reporting and writing “American Pope.” And we think what they shared about the project in this conversation will make you eager to track down a copy as soon as you can.

"American Pope: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City": https://bookshop.org/p/books/american-pope-leo-xiv-s-road-from-the-south-side-of-chicago-to-vatican-city-daniel-burke/c6b282694ebe4270?ean=9781250446053

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/

After returning briefly to his homeland to recover, teach and settle unfinished matters, Ignatius travels to Venice to rejoin his companions. When war prevents them from sailing to Jerusalem, they serve, preach and prepare for priesthood until their pilgrimage is redirected toward Rome, strengthened by Ignatius’ profound experience of being placed with Christ.

About the Series
We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic.

The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed.

The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey.

"The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/

For 12 years, the Catholic author, speaker and minister Meg Hunter-Kilmer lived out of her car, driving all over the US and beyond to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. If that sounds to you like someone with incredible zeal for the Lord, that is an accurate impression. Meg is a powerhouse of discipleship. She’s also an incredibly gifted writer, and we were thrilled to publish a series of her essays on lesser-known Jesuit and Ignatian holly men and women over the past couple of years. We’ll leave a link to her series, which we called “Friends of Ignatius,” here in the show notes.

The occasion for her recent conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey, though, was the publication of Meg’s newest book, titled “Eyes Fixed on Jesus, Volume 2: A Journey Into the Gospels.” In the book, Meg combines storytelling, Scripture study and cultural history to present the Gospel accounts in vivid ways. Mike asked Meg about the project and why she’s so excited to encourage Catholics to read more Scripture. She also shared the fruits of returning to the same Scripture stories time after time, and how there’s always more for us to discover in the text. They talked about one of the holy Jesuit priests she wrote about for our “Friends of Ignatius” series, the Venerable Eusebio Kino. Finally, as Meg serves as a campus minister at the University of Notre Dame, they talked about what she finds young Catholics to be hungering for these days. It was such a fun conversation and you’ll hear Meg’s passion and deep faith come through so clearly.

“Eyes Fixed on Jesus, Volume 2”: https://www.orderosv.com/product/eyes-fixed-on-jesus-vol-2-a-journey-into-the-gospels

More about Meg: https://www.piercedhands.com/

Read Meg’s 10 “Friends of Ignatius” essays here: https://www.jesuits.org/profile/meg-hunter-kilmer/

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Through years of poverty, study, illness and setbacks in Paris, Ignatius gradually learns a more patient and sustainable way of pursuing his mission. He also gathers companions — including Peter Faber and Francis Xavier — who commit themselves to serving souls together in Jerusalem or wherever the pope might send them.

About the Series
We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic.

The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed.

The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey.

"The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/