Father Antonio Spadaro was born in Messina on July 6, 1966, and was ordained as a priest in the Society of Jesus on December 21, 1996. He earned a degree in Philosophy from the University of his hometown in 1988, with a thesis focusing on the philosophical interpretations of Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises. After spending a year in Padua deepening his studies in Philosophy, he taught literature at the Massimo Institute high schools in Rome for two years. With his students, he published his first book, titled Tracce profonde: Il viaggio nell’immaginario collettivo dell’Occidente (Città Nuova, 1993). In 1998, he launched one of Italy’s first creative writing schools (bombacarta.com), which is still active today and has helped train young authors and screenwriters.
He continued his studies in both Social Communications and Theology, culminating in a Doctorate in Fundamental Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 2000, where he later taught as a visiting professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Theology. From 2017, he served two consecutive terms on the Board of Directors of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and he established the university's Roman office.
From 2004 to 2009, he was the Delegate for Intellectual Apostolate for the Italian Province of the Jesuits, and from 2007 to 2012, he coordinated the Scientific Committee for "La sfida e l’esperienza," which brought together representatives from academia and business.
In 2000, he joined the Editorial Board of La Civiltà Cattolica, initially serving as the coordinator for cultural activities and later becoming the Director from 2011 until 2023. Under his leadership, the historic Jesuit journal launched eight editions in addition to the Italian version (in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean, and Portuguese), and established a strong digital presence, collaborating with Jesuit writers from around the world.
He has been a member of the Order of Journalists since 2011 and has actively participated in journalistic training initiatives in collaboration with the Italian National Press Federation and various industry associations. He has contributed to several daily and periodical publications, including La Repubblica, Il Fatto Quotidiano, La Stampa, L’Espresso, L’Osservatore Romano, and radio stations such as Radio 1 and Radio 24. Since 2012, he has served as the Ecclesiastical Assistant for the Union of Italian Catholic Publishers and Booksellers (Uelci).
He was appointed by the Pope as a Consultor for the then Pontifical Council for Social Communications (2011–2016) and for the Pontifical Council for Culture (2011–2022). Since 2023, he has been a Consultor for the Dicastery for Culture and Education. He has been an academician of the Peloritana Academy of the Pericolanti since 2018 and a member of the Pontifical Academy of Virtuosi at the Pantheon since 2019. He was appointed Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education in September 2023, and took office on January 1, 2024.
As a papal appointee, he participated in the Synods of Bishops in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. He has accompanied Pope Francis on his apostolic journeys, serving as a member of the official delegation since 2016.
Since 2008, he has curated an international poetry series (L’Oblò) published by Áncora. As an author, he has published approximately 40 volumes, primarily connected to his extensive cultural work for La Civiltà Cattolica. His writings cover topics such as literature (theoretical essays and analyses of authors), art, digital culture, Cybertheology (the title of one of his books published in 2012 and translated into eight languages), international politics, and the life of the Church. Notably, he has authored several volumes on the pontificate of Pope Francis, including four books based on interviews with Pope Francis, including his first (La mia porta è sempre aperta, Rizzoli, 2013). He also oversaw the publication of Pope Francis’s writings from his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and various collections of texts following his election to the papacy. Additionally, he produced the Netflix series Stories of a Generation with Pope Francis and Papa Francesco: come Dio comanda for Sky Atlantic.
In May 2025 he received the honorary degree "Doctor of Divinity" from Santa Clara University, California.