Next week, after 29 years in Catholic education (17 in the classroom, 12 in diocesan administration), Chris is (mostly) leaving teaching behind to work with Emily and take over the business side of all she does. This week, after 17 years in the classroom, Casey is also leaving teaching behind to work with Kate on a host of different creative projects, from their music to theatre camps for kids. So this week, we’re talking a little about those decisions and a lot about what they have learned about education during their years in the classroom, from how education has changed over the years to how it needs to continue to change as AI looms large.

P.S. Making huge life transitions is scary, but a whole lot less scary when you’re doing it with friends.

Show Notes

“The Effect of Commuting Time on Quality of Life”

The History of Black Catholics in the United States by Cyprian Davis

African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals byDavid Hackett Fischer

Desegregating the Altar: The Josephites and the Struggle for Black Priests: 1871-1960 By Stephen J. Ochs

“How the Ivy League Broke America” by David Brooks

The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto

“Will the Truth Survive Artificial Intelligence? A Free Press Debate”

“Everyone’s Using AI to Cheat at School: That’s a Good Thing” by Tyler Cowen

Homeschool Connections Classes with Chris Chapman

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Today, we’re talking to our good friends from the American Catholic History Podcast, Tom and Noelle Crowe, about the saints, sinners, and movements that have made American Catholics who we are and why that matters to the global Church, especially in the wake of Pope Leo XIV’s election.

Show Notes:

Matt Fradd’s Note

The American Catholic History Podcast

American Catholic History Pilgrimages

The American Catholic Almanac by Emily Stimpson Chapman

Longinqua oceani (1895)

Testem Benevolentiae (1899)

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Habemus Papem! All four of us (but especially the resident redhead) have caught Pope Fever, and our new Holy Father is all we can talk about. So, today, we thought we would talk about it with you. In this episode, we’re chatting about our reactions to Pope Leo XIV—first, second, and third reactions that is—as well as our hopes for this new Leonine papacy.

We also want to thank one of our favorite Catholic businesses, The Little Rose Shop, for sponsoring this episode of Visitation Sessions. Emily and Chris have acquired so many beautiful items from the Little Rose shop over the years, that you’d think they were running a Little Rose Shop outlet store. Family favorites include their fantastic saint dolls, quiet Mass books, and cross back aprons. But whatever you choose to purchase, make sure to use the code Visitation15 at checkout to save 15 percent.

Last but not least, while we have your attention, if you too have Pope Fever and want to travel to Rome with the Chapmans to line up for the chance to see Pope Leo XIV on New Year’s Eve, a few spaces remain for the December pilgrimage, which will run from December 26 until January 4. To register or learn more, visit Select International Pilgrimages.

Show Notes:

The Pillar

Conclave Season: by Emily Chapman

The Both/And Pope: On the Burden of Poping in the Age of Social Media by Emily Chapman

The Full Stature of Christ: The Ecclesiology of Dom Virgil Michael by Sister Jeremy Hall (out of print)

Dom Virgil Micheal (American Catholic History Podcast)

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Between Kate’s film festival showings and Emily’s speaking engagements (Buffalo last week, Ottawa this week), the past couple of weeks have been a little insane for the Stapletons and Chapmans. We did manage to squeeze in a short Q&A, though, where we answer some of your questions about NFP and Artificial Intelligence.

On Thursday, May 8, though, we have a special thank you gift coming for our full subscribers. On that day, Kate will celebrate the birthday of her first daughter Brigid, whom she placed for adoption 24 years ago. We thought Brigid’s birthday, which is followed so closely by Mother’s Day, would make this a great time to share Kate’s beautiful story about their journey, The Inner Seas, with you.

The Inner Seas is a documentary about motherhood, music, adoption, and the long stories God writes. It is a testimony to the goodness of the unexpected and has already been selected by four prestigious film festivals, garnering it the much desired “Four Laurels.” As long as it is still on the festival circuit, Kate can’t make it publicly available. But we can share it behind a paywall, so that is what we will do Thursday. Keep an eye on your inbox for a link to view the film. And if you’re not a full subscriber, but would like to become one, just click the link below!

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Today, we’re talking to our good friend Rob Corzine, vice president of Academic Programs at the St. Paul Center, about conclaves past and present, and how despite humanity’s best efforts, the Holy Spirit proves again and again that he is in charge. And our apologies that this episode is dropping later than promised. We decided we wanted to wait until after Pope Francis funeral to drop an episode that was so heavy on conclave talk!

Show Notes:

Good Pope, Bad Pope: Their Lives, Our Lessons by Mike Aquilina

Discovering the Doctors and Hildegard of Bingen by Emily Stimpson Chapman

“I would not say so, in the sense that the Holy Spirit picks out the Pope. . . . I would say that the Spirit does not exactly take control of the affair, but rather like a good educator, as it were, leaves us much space, much freedom, without entirely abandoning us. Thus the Spirit’s role should be understood in a much more elastic sense, not that he dictates the candidate for whom one must vote. Probably the only assurance he offers is that the thing cannot be totally ruined. . . . There are too many contrary instances of popes the Holy Spirit obviously would not have picked!” Pope Benedict XVI

A Jubilee Christmas

The Chapman family us heading to Rome on December 26 to spend 10 days soaking in the beauty of Rome at Christmas, celebrating the end of the Jubilee Year, and ringing in the New Year with our new Holy Father (!). We would love to have you join us. The pilgrimage is filling up fast, but we still have room for a couple more families (or quite a few singles or several couples). There are so many graces to be had on pilgrimage—graces of friendship, of learning, of beauty, and worshipping at the very heart of the Church. These pilgrimages are never easy to embark on. Sacrifice is always involved. But if God is calling you to go, this is one journey you won’t regret. You can learn more here.

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Before Easter, we recorded a podcast for this week. And then some things happened. We’re still sharing this episode, as recorded, but we’ll be back later in the week with a new episode about the passing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, plus the upcoming conclave, the nine days of mourning, and more. We’re bringing on a special guest who is way more up on his Church history and conclave procedures than we are, so if you have questions, drop them in the comments or send them along in the dms, and we’ll put them to our expert when we record tomorrow (Thursday, 4/24/25).

This episode was made possible by the support of The Catholic Balm Company, makers of clean, non-toxic personal care products for men, with scents inspired by our Catholic Faith. We love, use, and have been spending our own money on these products for years, and think you will will love them, too. So, if you’re looking for beard balms, face lotions, lip balms, soaps, and colognes that work as great as they smell and aren’t loaded up with ingredients you can’t pronounce, check them out at catholicbalm.co.

Show Notes

John Henry Newman on Difficulties versus Doubts

The Catholic Table by Emily Stimpson Chapman

Farrow and Ball Paints

The Inner Seas, a documentary by Kate Stapleton

Homeschool Connections Classes with Christopher Chapman

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With Good Friday soon upon us, we’re talking through fasting and abstinence, the good of penance, and the penance of Palm Sunday with small children.

Mentioned on today’s episode:

St. Michael’s Abbey

The Rule of St. Augustine (as it pertains to fasting)

“Fasting: A Source of Trial,” Sermons of Saint John Henry Newman

“All About Lent: The Fast,” Emily Stimpson Chapman

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If Chappell Roan is good at anything besides singing, it’s inspiring lively conversation. Buckle up for a free flowing and wide ranging conversation about parenting, influencers, community, country music, the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s shameful maternity leave policy, and mimetic desire (because why not).

P.S. This week, a little over 13 months after we launched this podcast, we crossed the 130,000 download mark! That is an amazing feat for a little podcast like ours, and we are so grateful to all of you who are listening and sharing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Show Notes:

Call Her Daddy with Chappell Roan

“The Weeds and Wheat of Motherhood,” by Emily Stimpson Chapman

Renee Girard and Mimetic Desire

“Study: The Experiences of U.S. Adults Who Don’t Have Children,” Pew Research Center

Anne Hathaway: “Abortion is another word for mercy.”

Drunkard’s Prayer, Over the Rhine

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

Gabby Barrett

All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior

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After we finished “Let’s Talk About Sex,” our most recent conversation with Monica and Renzo Ortega of Two Become Family , we kept recording as we discussed the Manosphere’s obsession with the marital debt, what they get wrong, and what they get right.

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For …

How do you talk with your spouse about sex? How do you communicate your fears, struggles, needs, and love to them? Why are these conversations so very hard? And why also are they so very important? This week, we’re talking about those questions and more, with our friends Renzo and Monica Ortega, authors of the new book: Lovemaking: How To Talk About Sex With Your Spouse and hosts of the podcast and Substack, Two Become Family. You’ll hear about how struggles with sex and communication almost destroyed their marriage, how they overcame those struggles and past sexual sin, how they leaned into discernment as a family, and how discernment, mentorship, and a mature approach to NFP can help your marriage, too.

PS. Full subscribers, a bonus episode will be coming your way later this week, where we continue our conversation with the Ortegas, focusing on the Manosphere and the marital debt. Not a full subscriber? Just click the button below.

Show Notes:

Lovemaking: How to Talk About Sex With Your Spouse by Renzo and Monica Ortega

Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla (Pope Saint John Paul II)

Man and Woman He Created Them by Karol Wojtyla (Pope Saint John Paul II)

Humanae Vitae by Pope Saint Paul VI

These Beautiful Bones: An Everyday Theology of the Body by Emily Stimpson Chapman

“Battles of the Sexes: Duals Between Men and Women in 1400s Fectbucher,” The Public Domain Review

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