University of Oxford
Catholicism and Asia
The papacy, the Vatican and the changing global Church
Miles Pattenden is an Anglo-Australian historian at the University of Oxford specialising in the history of the papacy and Catholicism, with particular interests in papal elections, the globalisation of the Catholic Church and the changing relationship between Rome and Catholic communities around the world.
About
Miles teaches Modern History at St Peter’s College, Oxford. His research examines the history and institutions of the papacy, the College of Cardinals and conclaves, as well as the relationship between the Vatican, politics and the wider world.
He is co-editor of The Cambridge History of the Papacy (Cambridge University Press, 2025) and author of Electing the Pope in Early Modern Italy (Oxford University Press, 2017). His next book, White Smoke: A History of the Papacy Through Conclaves, will be published by Bloomsbury in 2027.
Catholicism and Asia
Miles writes and comments on the transformation of the Catholic Church from an institution historically centred on Europe into an increasingly global Church. His work considers the growing geographical diversity of the College of Cardinals, the place of Asian Catholic communities within the worldwide Church, and the implications of these changes for future papal elections.
He has also written about papal travel in Asia, Vatican diplomacy, relations with China, and the ways in which recent popes have sought to engage countries where Catholics form a minority of the population.
Selected writing
Media in Asia
Miles’s historical analysis and commentary have been used by media across Asia, both through direct interviews and through international reporting translated or republished for local audiences.
Topics for interviews
- Pope Leo XIV and the future direction of the Catholic Church
- The growing role of Asia in global Catholicism
- Asia’s growing role in the College of Cardinals and papal elections
- Papal visits to Asia and their historical significance
- Vatican diplomacy and the Holy See’s international role
- Vatican diplomacy and the appointment of bishops
- Catholicism in countries where Christians are a minority
- The papacy and interreligious dialogue
Available for interviews
Available for television, radio, print and podcast interviews in English with media across Asia.
Available for breaking-news commentary on the Vatican and papacy, as well as longer-form historical analysis of the Catholic Church and its changing global role.