It’s been a busy year for Professor Joëlle Rollo-Koster. Upon the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV, she was in demand by media outlets as an authority on all things papal; and a three-volume history of the papacy, which she edited, was published this year.

If you followed the news earlier this year of the death of Pope Francis and the ascension of Pope Leo XIV, you likely encountered reports that included the scholarly input of Joëlle Rollo-Koster.

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Rollo-Koster, a URI history professor and fellow of the Medieval Academy of America—the highest career recognition bestowed upon a medievalist—was in the media spotlight as a go-to expert, answering questions on Francis’ legacy, the private conclave that elects the next pope, and frontrunners.

“I did not keep exact track, but there were days when I had seven interviews,” says Rollo-Koster, who spoke with journalists from local to international outlets, including the BBC, CNN, Fox News, and The New York Times.

“Francis was a true humanitarian and, I think, truly concerned with peace. I heard him lead the Angelus prayer at St. Peter’s Square in January. He emphasized the necessity of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza and expressed hope for both Israel and Palestine, advocating for a two-state solution,” she says. “He was also the first pope to show real concern for the planet.”

Pope Francis died in April. The election of Robert Francis Prevost—Pope Leo XIV—the first pope from North America, was, Rollo-Koster says, a somewhat surprising choice.

“I was expecting—like in politics—a turn to the right. But for the Church and the papacy, there is no right turn,” she says. “People think there is a major difference between traditionalists and liberals, but ‘politically’ they are aligned. They all agree on the main issues: no women, no divorce, no same-sex marriages.”

Rollo-Koster, who grew up in Toulon, France, fell in love with medieval studies at the University of Nice, finding freedom to explore questions and discover new sources in a field with relatively fewer scholars. The same was true for the medieval papacy.

“Interior view of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, from Vedute di Roma.” Etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi circa 1748.

“I was expecting—like in politics—a turn to the right. But for the Church and the papacy, there is no right turn.”

­—Professor Joëlle Rollo-Koster

“The best thing about studying the papacy and the Church is that they have extensive archives and documents, so there is always something new to discover and interpret,” she says.

A specialist in the Avignon Papacy and the Great Western Schism, Rollo-Koster has published widely on social, cultural, religious, and political life in the late Middle Ages, including eight books. She is the lead editor on The Cambridge History of the Papacy, a deep dive into the evolution of the 2,000-year-old papacy. The three-volume, 2,400-page history was published this spring by Cambridge University Press. The six-year project, which, she grants, “is not light reading,” brought together 90 specialists as writers and is the first in-depth history of the papacy.

—Tony LaRoche ’85

PHOTO: MICHAEL SALERNO