John L. Allen Jr., a veteran Vatican journalist and editor-in-chief of Crux, died Jan. 22 in Rome at age 61 after a three-year battle with stomach cancer.
Allen’s death was announced by Crux, the outlet he helped launch and led for more than a decade. Often described as one of the most influential English-language Vatican reporters in recent years, Allen covered the Holy See for nearly 30 years, reporting across multiple pontificates and major Church events.
He is survived by his wife, Elise Ann Allen, Crux’s senior Rome correspondent.
“Allen was a force of nature, certainly as a journalist who was not only our principal but also a model for us, whose counsel and whose company we already and forever shall sorely miss,” Crux said in the statement announcing his death.
Born in Hays, Kansas, Allen moved to Rome in 1997 to cover the Vatican for the National Catholic Reporter, a role he held for 17 years, according to Crux. His reporting spanned the death of Pope St. John Paul II, the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, and the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Allen served as a senior Vatican analyst for CNN, and in 2025, contributed to CBS News coverage of the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
In 2014, Allen helped launch Crux at The Boston Globe. The outlet became independent two years later, with Allen contributing as editor until his death. Over the course of his career, Allen has authored 11 books on Catholic topics, including works on papal conclaves, Pope Benedict XVI, Opus Dei, and Pope Francis.
Bishop Robert Barron, who co-authored the 2017 book “To Light a Fire on the Earth” with Allen, described him as “the dean of Catholic journalists in the English-speaking world.”
I’ve just received the very sad news that John Allen has died. For more than thirty years, John has been the dean of Catholic journalists in the English-speaking world. There was no more intelligent, fair-minded, balanced, and insightful commentator on Church life than John. He…
— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) January 22, 2026
“Many people talk about building bridges and bringing warring factions together, but John actually did those things, both through his graceful writing and his personal charm,” Bishop Barron added. “I will miss him as a friend, and I will also miss him as a much-needed voice of reason and sanity in the Church. May he rest in peace.”