Delia Gallagher

Last updated

Delia Buckley Gallagher (born March 11, 1970) is an American journalist based in Rome who currently serves as the Senior Editor for Inside the Vatican magazine. She formerly served as CNN's Faith and Values Correspondent. Gallagher was a long time CNN Vatican Analyst, Vaticanologist, and religious journalist based in New York. Prior to joining CNN full time, she lived in Rome for 7 years. In Rome, she wrote a weekly column for Zenit News Agency and was a contributing editor for the magazine. The History Channel Documentary, "Angels and Demons Decoded" released by A & E Television Networks profiled Gallagher commenting on Dan Brown's bestseller book which was made into a movie. Subsequently, Gallagher moderated the Angels and Demons movie press conference film debut in Rome on stage with Tom Hanks, Ron Howard and Dan Brown often speaking in Italian and English. She knows Pope Benedict XVI personally and travelled extensively with John Paul II, including his last trip to Poland. Upon the death of Pope John Paul II, she broadcast and commented for CNN Worldwide covering the unfolding event.

Contents

Early years and education

Delia Gallagher's parents are Irish immigrants from Counties Kerry and Donegal. They met in the U.S. and married in Ireland in 1969. Delia was born in San Francisco a year later. She grew up in nearby San Jose, where her parents still reside. With four younger brothers, Delia is the oldest of five children.

Gallagher attended St. Joseph of Cupertino School, then attended the college preparatory school of Saint Lawrence Academy. Delia earned her undergraduate degree at the University of San Francisco (where she was an editor of The Foghorn, the school newspaper). She then attended Blackfriars, Oxford University (founded by the Dominican Order), where she got her MPhil in Theology. Gallagher speaks fluent Italian and conversational French.

Pre-CNN Life

While still in college, Gallagher started working part-time as a writer at KCBS San Francisco. She later joined the AM News Radio station full-time after graduation. Her former colleagues described her as "extremely nice, focused, and hard working."

After graduate school, Delia joined the Oxford University Press (OUP) as a researcher and editor. Her work involved being part of the team that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls CD-ROM. She moved to Rome in 1998 and started as a writer for Inside the Vatican. As a member of the Vatican Press Corp, she traveled with Pope John Paul II to Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and Italy. She also wrote a weekly column for the Zenit News Agency called "Rome Notes.", and has followed for CNN the 2002 Molise earthquake. Gallagher lived in the Roman neighborhood of Parioli.

CNN Life

After taking the position of Faith and Values Correspondent in September 2005, Gallagher reported on a wide range of topics for the television network. Some of her work included reports for Vatican Rules on Homosexuality and the Priesthood, Hassidic Jews in Brooklyn, and Intelligent Design. She also hosted a highly rated two-hour special entitled The Last Days of Pope John Paul II: The Untold Stories, which aired on the first anniversary of the pope's death. Alongside these examples of her work, she has also done an interview with the author Anne Rice. Delia appeared regularly on CNN as an expert on religious matters. Most recently, her expertise was consulted on Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical, Deus caritas est . She was a regular contributor to "On the Story" and a frequent guest on Lou Dobbs, CNN Newsroom, and Anderson Cooper 360.

Recent written work

2006.03.30 A Peek Through the Vatican Curtains (CNN)
2006.03.30 A Pope's Last Request: "Read me the Bible" (CNN)
2004.09.04 Holy House of Loreto; New Saints; Marvelli and Suriano (Zenit)
2004.08.26 An Icon the Pope Hoped to Deliver Personally (Zenit)
2004.08.19 Cardinal Poupard on Inculturation; Olympic Peace (Zenit)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Benedict XVI</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013

Pope Benedict XVI was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as pope occurred in the 2005 papal conclave that followed the death of Pope John Paul II. Benedict chose to be known as "Pope emeritus" upon his resignation, and he retained this title until his death in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Battista Re</span> Italian cardinal

Giovanni Battista Re is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church whose service has been primarily in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He was prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 2000 to 2010. As the senior cardinal-bishop in attendance, he chaired the March 2013 papal conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor. Pope Francis approved his election as Dean of the College of Cardinals on 18 January 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarcisio Bertone</span> Italian prelate and Vatican diplomat (born 1934)

Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop of Genoa from 2002 to 2006, and as Cardinal Secretary of State from 2006 to 2013. On 10 May 2008, he was named Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg Gänswein</span> German Catholic prelate (born 1956)

Georg Gänswein is a German prelate of the Catholic Church who was named Apostolic Nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia on 24 June 2024. He served as Prefect of the Papal Household from 2012 to 2023 and was the Personal Secretary of Pope Benedict XVI. He was a Professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross for about a decade and has been an archbishop since 2012. He is also an Honorary Canon of Freiburg Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neocatechumenal Way</span> Catholic program

The Neocatechumenal Way, also known as the Neocatechumenate, or NCW is a program in the Catholic Church. It is inspired by the catechumenate of the early Catholic Church where converts from paganism were prepared for baptism through a process of faith formation. This post-baptismal formation helps deepen the faith for adults that have already been baptized, and provides basic instruction to those that are far from the Church. This itinerary of formation adapts the rites of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) for those that have already been baptized, without repeating the sacrament of baptism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John L. Allen Jr.</span> American Roman Catholic journalist (born 1965)

John L. Allen Jr. is an American journalist and author who serves as editor of the Catholic news website Crux, formerly hosted by The Boston Globe and now independently funded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo Caffarra</span> Italian prelate of the Catholic Church

Carlo Caffarra was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Bologna from 2003 until 2015,. His previous positions included President of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family from 1981 to 1995 and Archbishop of Ferrara-Comacchio from 1995 to 2003. He was created a cardinal on 24 March 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agostino Vallini</span> Italian prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1940)

Agostino Vallini is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been a cardinal since 2006. From 2008 to 2017 he served as Vicar General of Rome. He is also the Archpriest emeritus of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith</span>

Joseph Ratzinger (1927–2022) was named by Pope John Paul II on 25 November 1981 as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) formerly known as the Holy Office and, especially around the 16th century, as the Roman Inquisition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Patrick Foley</span> American Roman Catholic archbishop and cardinal

John Patrick Foley was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. From 2007 until 2011, he was Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, an order of knighthood under papal protection, having previously served as President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications from 1984 to 2007. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2007. He provided the commentary for the American television viewers of the Christmas Midnight Mass from St Peter's Basilica, Rome. However, in 2009, he retired from that role after 25 years. The commentary was taken over by Monsignor Thomas Powers of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, an official in the Congregation for Bishops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Levada</span> American Catholic cardinal (1936–2019)

William Joseph Levada was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. From May 2005 until June 2012, he served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Benedict XVI; he was the highest ranking American in the Roman Curia. He was previously the Archbishop of Portland in Oregon from 1986 to 1995, and then Archbishop of San Francisco from 1995 to 2005. While serving as archbishop, he was criticized for covering up sexual abuse by priests within his jurisdiction. Levada was created a cardinal in 2006 by Benedict XVI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achille Silvestrini</span> Italian Catholic cardinal (1923–2019)

Achille Silvestrini was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served in the Vatican diplomatic corps, either in Rome or abroad, from 1953 to 1990, and later as Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches from 1991 to 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angelo Amato</span> Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church (born 1938)

Angelo Amato, S.D.B., is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2002 to 2008 and became a cardinal in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy See–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

Holy See–United Kingdom relations are foreign relations between the Holy See and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatification of Pope John Paul II</span>

Pope John Paul II reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State for 26 years from October 1978 to his death, on 2 April 2005. Since his death, many thousands of people have been supporting the case for beatifying and canonising Pope John Paul II as a saint. His formal beatification ceremony took place on 1 May 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II</span> Roman Catholic ceremony declaring two popes as saints

Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II reigned as popes of the Roman Catholic Church and the sovereigns of Vatican City. Their canonizations were held on 27 April 2014. The decision to canonize was made official by Pope Francis on 5 July 2013 following the recognition of a miracle attributed to the intercession of John Paul II, while John XXIII was canonized for his merits of opening the Second Vatican Council. The date of the canonization was assigned on 30 September 2013.

Secrets of the Vatican is an American television documentary film. It was first aired on the PBS Channel on 25 February 2014 as an episode of PBS' Frontline TV series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death and funeral of Pope Benedict XVI</span> 2022-23 death and funeral of the 265th pope

On 31 December 2022, at 09:34 Central European Time (UTC+1), former Pope Benedict XVI died at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in Vatican City at the age of 95. He had been pope emeritus since his resignation as the leader of the Catholic Church in 2013 due to declining health. His death ended a nine-year period during which an incumbent pope and a retired pope both lived within Vatican City.