John L. Allen, Jr.

John L. Allen Jr. (born 1965) is an American journalist serving as editor of the website Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse, specializing in news about the Catholic Church in partnership with the Catholic fraternal organization the Knights of Columbus. Before moving to the Boston Globe in 2014, he worked for 16 years in Rome as a Vatican watcher, covering news about the Holy See and the Pope. During that time he was senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and an analyst of Vatican affairs for CNN and NPR. He has been called "America’s leading Vaticanist."

Allen is also the author of several books about the Catholic Church. He has written two biographies of Pope Benedict XVI, the first one published in 2000 when the Pope was still a cardinal and later the first biography of him in English.

Allen grew up in Hays, Kansas. He graduated from Capuchin-foundedThomas More Prep-Marian High School in 1983. He received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Fort Hays State University and a master's degree in religious studies from the University of Kansas. For several years, Allen taught journalism and oversaw the student-run newspaper, The Knight, at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California.

During the coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II, Allen frequently appeared on CNN. He then became the Vatican analyst for CNN and NPR. He also delivers lectures discussing Vatican issues and his latest works.

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