Dear friends,
There’s some bittersweet news for the Crux Now family this week.
Our colleague and friend, longtime Rome correspondent Elise Ann Allen, is stepping away from Crux Now to write the next chapter of her life.
The death of John L. Allen, Jr., our editor and friend and Elise’s husband, hit all of us very hard, and it hit Elise hardest of all.
We were amazed at her grace – and her work ethic – during that painful time, and we felt her absence when she stepped away on sabbatical after Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Spain earlier this year.
We’ll continue to feel it, but we understand her decision comes from a place of deep discernment, and we wish her all the best.
Elise loves Crux Now readers most of all, I know and assure you, but you don’t have to take my word for it. She says her farewell piece in today’s pages.
The kind and generous words she offers us in her farewell remarks are deeply moving, and we promise we’ll do our best to deserve them.
No one can replace Elise – not in the newsroom and certainly not in our hearts – but we will have an announcement about her successor in Rome before too long.
About the news service of which she has been an integral part for many years, well, we’re ready for the next chapter, too.
When Boston Globe owner John W. Henry decided to start Crux in 2014, he had the wisdom to rely on John L. Allen Jr.’s vision for “smart, wired, and independent” reporting on the Catholic Church.
In 2016, John took over Crux from the Boston Globe and dedicated the rest of his life to the project: An independent Catholic news organization that was informed and objective.
As media became more fractured and ideological, John believed it was even more important for Crux to continue to embody that vision.
We still hold that belief, and we know you will stay with our family for years to come.
Sincerely,
Charles Collins
Editor-in-Chief
