Siobhan Fallon Hogan, an actress with credits in films like Forrest Gump and Men in Black, hosts the EWTN Studios podcast 'Catholics and Cappuccinos'. The podcast features fellow Catholics from the entertainment and media industries. Hogan aims for the podcast to contribute to EWTN's mission of spreading the Catholic faith. The show combines Hogan's interests in Catholicism, coffee, and entertainment.
30 days ago
EWTN+ launched the podcast "Catholics and Cappuccinos," hosted by actress Siobhan Fallon Hogan.1 2 3
It premiered on February 5, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET, with biweekly episodes on Thursdays.1
Siobhan Fallon Hogan, known for roles in Forrest Gump, Men in Black, and Seinfeld, is a lifelong Catholic from upstate New York.1 2 3
She has turned down roles conflicting with her faith and views the podcast as a homecoming to openly discuss Catholicism.1
A graduate of Le Moyne College and The Catholic University of America, Hogan draws from Ignatian spirituality's "contemplatives in action."1
The first episode features Jonathan Roumie of The Chosen.1 2 3
Upcoming guests include Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond), Federico Castelluccio (The Sopranos), David Henrie (Seeking Beauty), Kevin James, Sister of Life Mary Gabriel, Father Donald Haggerty, and Father Michael Duffy.1 2 3
The podcast highlights how faith shapes guests' careers, families, and lives in entertainment.1 2 3
It emphasizes the joy of Catholicism, blending humor, theology, and inspiration to encourage listeners to prioritize faith.2 3
Historical Catholic contributions to Hollywood, from Golden Age stars like Bing Crosby to modern figures, provide context.1
Available on EWTN's YouTube channel, EWTN+, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, and ewtn.com.1 2 3
It coincides with EWTN Studios' new projects like David Henrie's Seeking Beauty, marking a vibrant phase in faith-based storytelling.2 3
Investigate Catholic media’s role in fostering lay joy and identity
Catholic media plays a vital role in nurturing the spiritual lives of the laity by sustaining their sense of Catholic identity and cultivating interior joy rooted in faith, good works, mercy, and right teaching. Drawing from Church documents and patristic commentary, this analysis explores how publications, broadcasts, and digital platforms serve as instruments of evangelization, formation, and consolation, integrating these elements into the Church's broader mission.
At its core, Catholic media is tasked with preserving and promoting the distinctive identity of the faithful amid a pluralistic world. In regions where Catholics form a minority, publications and news agencies become essential for "sustaining and nurturing a sense of Catholic identity and of spreading knowledge of Catholic moral principles." This echoes the call for dioceses to establish communications offices and integrate media education into priestly, religious, and lay formation, ensuring that Catholics engage the "areopagus of the modern age" with fidelity to Church teaching.
Pope John Paul II emphasized this in addresses to bishops, underscoring that the Catholic press not only serves the community but shapes public opinion on the Church's doctrine. It provides "accurate information, airing informed opinion, and fostering dialogue with fidelity to what the Church believes and teaches," thereby deepening the faith of Catholics and making it known to the wider society. Bishops, as moderators of the word, must safeguard the "integrity of faith and morals" through these channels, offering formation and pastoral care to media professionals as sharers in the ministry of the word.
The Pontifical Council for Social Communications reinforces that Catholic media—encompassing press, radio, television, and training institutes—is not peripheral but "an integral part of every pastoral plan," contributing to every apostolate by guaranteeing the Church's presence in the public forum. In Poland, for instance, the Holy Father highlighted the "long tradition" of Catholic periodicals, radio, and emerging internet tools as allies in moral, religious, and cultural formation, urging their expansion to build ecclesial community and apostolic fervor. Likewise, a qualified Catholic presence in mainstream media ensures "accurate and fair news about the Church," countering distortions and illuminating its mystery.
This identity-fostering mission extends to lay professionals, who are called to a "front-line missionary role" in neutral media outlets, trained to bear witness amid cultural challenges. Through such efforts, laity are reminded of their belonging to the universal Church, united even in isolation, as seen in exhortations to minority communities.
Beyond identity, Catholic media ignites interior joy—the "oil of gladness" that nourishes the soul's lamp of faith. St. Thomas Aquinas, commenting on the wise virgins in Matthew 25:4, interprets the oil as symbolizing good works that sustain faith, mercy that tempers judgment, interior joy from a clean conscience, and holy teaching that forms the heart. Those who "preserve continence, who show mercy, who seek interior joy, who take up right teaching" embody this wisdom, drawing from Proverbs: "there is a treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of the just." Media disseminates these truths, echoing Psalm 44:8—"God has anointed you with the oil of gladness"—and fostering joy not in worldly glory but in conscience aligned with God.
This joy emerges from comprehensive Christian formation, where enthusiastic faith converges with life, grounded in Church teaching. Publications and broadcasts stir "apostolic fervour" by relating faith to daily realities, guarding against fideism and promoting reason's role in understanding the faith. In evangelization, media employs image, word, and gesture to engage cultures without letting superficiality eclipse doctrinal reality, thus sustaining spiritual gladness.
Catholic media uniquely unites joy and identity by making the faith accessible and transformative. It nourishes the laity's "vir catholicus" spirit—mature humanity adoring God in wonder—through prayerful discernment and sacramental intimacy. While primarily addressed to seminarians, this principle applies to laity via media that integrates human, spiritual, and pastoral dimensions around Christocentric spirituality.
In educational settings, akin to universities, media echoes the mandate for Catholic principles to permeate teaching, ensuring teachers and students respect and promote identity while forming moral consciences. Pastoral plans embed communications to combat unbelief, promoting events, arts, and prizes that highlight faith-culture encounters, yielding joy in shared witness.
Challenges persist: media must vigilantly counter moral dangers from secular content, coordinating with families and schools for holistic education. Yet, its promise lies in building "articles of peace" through truth and charity, even amid postliberal critiques of neutral public squares.
In summary, Catholic media fosters lay joy and identity by sustaining faith through accurate witness, moral formation, and joyful teaching, as an indispensable extension of the Church's evangelizing mission. Laity are invited to engage these tools prayerfully, deepening their consolation in Christ and bold proclamation of His Gospel.