⛪️ Villanova at the Vatican | Morning Newsletter
And Pennsylvania’s post-conviction issues.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Happy Tuesday. We’re expecting a foggy start to the day before things turn warm and sunny with highs in the upper 70s.
Today, we’ve got the latest on a West Philly shooting that left one police officer dead and another wounded during the weekend.
And, we uncover why some incarcerated people are left waiting years for their lawyers to act.
But first, let’s start with a look at how having a pope as an alumnus gives Villanova University a “halo effect.”
— Laura Benshoff (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Villanova University is the only U.S. college with an alumnus pope — a distinction it’s likely to keep for many generations.
That connection to Pope Leo XIV has been a boon to the Catholic university, writes higher education reporter Susan Snyder, who is currently reporting from Rome.
The last two years have been high marks for donations to Villanova. While not directly attributable to the pope, “when people feel good” it helps them make an investment, said one school official.
Applications increased by 10% the year after Pope Leo was elected, and campus visits also spiked.
Part of the appeal may be the special proximity to the Holy See. Students and faculty have gotten intimate audiences with Pope Leo.
The university this week is hosting an international conference near the Vatican on sustainability, something that Villanova president Rev. Peter M. Donohue said would not have happened if Leo weren’t the pope. Pope Leo was scheduled to present an award at the event, but will now be undergoing surgery on his lung instead.
Read on for Snyder’s full report on how Villanova and the Vatican have grown closer.
After four witnesses recanted, a Delaware County man spent 20 years in prison insisting he was innocent of murder charges.
But records show his lawyer, to whom he wrote dozens of letters pleading for help, did little to help besides asking for more time, according to an investigation by The Philadelphia Inquirer and ProPublica.
Pennsylvania guarantees the right to “effective” legal representation to people fighting their convictions. Yet the state has done little to fulfill that promise.
“We at times even have to fight the attorneys who are supposed to represent us,” one said.
Read on for the full investigation.
What you should know today
Dispatch audio obtained by The Inquirer shows the chaos that unfolded early Saturday morning as police tried to locate Eric Lewis while dodging gunfire.
A 39-year-old woman in Franklin County died after contracting measles, the sixth report of a death linked to Pennsylvania’s worst measles outbreak in decades.
A man who barricaded himself on a SEPTA bus in Fox Chase on Monday died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Proposed changes to the federal Community Reinvestment Act could impact access to loans in lower-income areas of the Philadelphia region, advocates warn.
A new research hub for AI applications in healthcare has launched at the University of Delaware’s Newark campus.
The Philadelphia Flyers are off to their worst start of a season, ever.
Càphê Roasters, the James Beard-recognized Vietnamese coffee shop, is opening a new, larger location in South Philadelphia.
The Kibitz Room is in a pickle with New Jersey regulators (sorry).
Food writer Michael Klein details why calling your restaurant a Jewish deli brings with it some specific Garden State regulations.
🧠 Trivia time
The sinkhole under Route 202 in Upper Merion Township is how many years in the making, give or take a few?
A) 500 million
B) 500,000
C) 2 million
D) 200 million
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🗳️ Bookmarking. The Inquirer’s 2026 Pa. midterms voter’s guide is here. Save it to learn about all the key races in your area before you head to the polls.
⚓️ Seeing off. The SS United States, which was towed out of Philadelphia in 2025 after years of rusting on the Delaware waterfront, will be sunk next month, per The Inquirer’s Emily Bloch.
🛫 Checking out. PHL’s newest restaurant is a Creole spot specializing in gumbo and bread pudding, reports food writer Michael Klein.
🦅 Predicting. I don’t want to jinx anything, but the Eagles are the early favorites to win their next game against the Carolina Panthers, reports The Inquirer’s Ariel Simpson.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: The actress who plays Barbara Howard on ABC’s Abbott Elementary.
HELPER LASH LYRE
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Ronald Workman who correctly solved Monday’s anagram: Nittany Lions. Despite major expectations entering the season, Penn State’s football team is 0-3 in the Big Ten and tied with Maryland, Washington and Michigan State at the bottom of the league.
Photo of the day
Whether on the football field or in Vatican City, Inquirer photographer David Maialetti sure can capture a feeling.
👋 May you have a moment of quiet devotion somewhere in your day.
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