Gotta Be Saints

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In this episode of the Gotta Be Saints Podcast, I sit down with Steph Stampfer, a Catholic writer and podcaster living in Vienna, to share her powerful and honest journey to the Catholic faith. Steph’s story moves through spiritual searching, travel, Eastern spirituality, New Age practices, and deep interior brokenness—before ultimately leading her home to Christ and the Catholic Church.
This conversation is a testimony to the patience of God, the power of intercessory prayer, the role of Our Lady in conversion, and the beauty of simply sitting with Jesus and allowing Him to do the work.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Growing up in Germany and early questions about love, belonging, and meaning
Searching for truth through travel, Buddhism, and meditation
Life in Berlin and immersion in New Age and esoteric spirituality
The danger of blending spiritualities and creating a “custom” faith
Psychedelic experiences and the reality of the spiritual world
Hitting rock bottom and feeling deeply lost
A providential move into the home of a faithful Catholic woman
The quiet power of the Rosary and intercessory prayer
Marian consecration and the breaking of spiritual strongholds
Encountering Jesus as a Person—not an idea
Healing from loneliness, confusion, and interior unrest
Falling in love with Scripture, the Eucharist, and adoration
Embracing the Catholic Church as home
Learning to let God work rather than striving on our own
Why silence and time before the Lord changes everything
About the Guest
Steph Stampfer lives in Vienna, Austria, where she works as a Catholic writer and hosts a podcast focused on sharing the faith boldly and without apology. Her work centers on authentic conversion, prayer, and helping others encounter Jesus Christ in a real and personal way.
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In this episode of the Gotta Be Saints Podcast, I sit down with Dr. George Delgado, a family physician and one of the pioneers of abortion pill reversal (APR), to talk about the science, the stories, and the hope behind a medical protocol that gives women a second chance after beginning a chemical abortion.
Dr. Delgado is the founder of the Abortion Pill Reversal Network and the author of Abortion Pill Reversal: A Second Chance at Choice. As chemical abortions now account for the majority of abortions in the United States, APR has become an increasingly urgent and misunderstood topic. This conversation walks through what APR actually is, how it works medically, why it is opposed by powerful institutions, and what’s at stake for women and children.
Most importantly, this episode centers the human reality: women who regret their decision, reach out for help, and discover that it is not too late.
In This Episode, We Discuss
What a chemical (medication) abortion is and how it works
The role of progesterone in sustaining pregnancy
How abortion pill reversal works medically and why it makes sense biologically
Why regret often sets in immediately after taking the first abortion pill
Common misconceptions about APR and what the peer-reviewed evidence actually shows
Claims that APR is “unproven” or “dangerous” and how the data responds
The growing risks of telehealth and mail-order abortions
Why abortion pill reversal threatens the abortion industry’s narrative
How APR can be a redemptive turning point in a woman’s life
Why APR may be the “tip of the spear” in the pro-life movement today
What needs to change in medicine, policy, and public awareness going forward
About the Guest
Dr. George Delgado is a family physician based in California and one of the earliest doctors to develop and study abortion pill reversal. He has published multiple peer-reviewed studies on APR and founded the Steno Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to education, awareness, and research around abortion pill reversal. The Institute is named after Blessed Nicholas Steno, a physician and Catholic convert.
Get the Book
📘 Abortion Pill Reversal: A Second Chance at Choice
Published by Ignatius Press
Available at:
Ignatius Press
Amazon
StenoInstitute.org
Grab it here.
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This episode is sponsored by Truthly, the Catholic app that helps you reflect, learn, and share your faith with confidence.
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In this episode of the Gotta Be Saints Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Angela Costley, a Hebrew Catholic theologian and Scripture professor based in the UK, to talk about what it means to be both Jewish and Catholic—not as a contradiction, but as a fulfillment.
We discuss why the phrase “Jewish Catholic” can sound confusing at first, how the Church is grafted onto the “olive tree” of Israel (Romans 9–11), what Vatican II helped recover about the Church’s relationship to the Jewish people, and why Hebrew Catholics need space to live their Jewish identity faithfully within the Church.
This conversation draws from Dr. Costley’s work as co-editor of From Sinai to Rome: Jewish Identity in the Catholic Church—a book that doesn’t shy away from the painful history of Jewish-Catholic relations, while also offering real hope for the future.
About Dr. Angela Costley
Hebrew Catholic theologian based in the UK
Scripture professor at St Mary’s College (seminary)
Studied at Durham, Oxford, and earned her PhD at the Pontifical University in Maynooth
Board member of the Association of Hebrew Catholics
In this episode, we talk about:
What a “Jewish Catholic” is (and why it isn’t a contradiction)
Why Catholicism can be understood as the heir of “Temple Judaism” fulfilled in Christ
The Mass and the fulfillment of temple worship and offerings
“Salvation comes from the Jews” (John 4:22) and what Catholics should do with that
Romans 9–11 and the image of the olive tree (Israel as root; Gentiles grafted in)
Why the Church isn’t a “new Israel,” but Israel in fulfillment
Jewish identity as personal and collective (and why assimilation can be spiritually damaging)
The Association of Hebrew Catholics and the need for community and witness
Facing hard history: antisemitism, misunderstandings, and doctrinal development
Why friendship and dialogue matter for healing and authentic witness today
Hope in Romans 11 (“all Israel will be saved”) and what that means going forward
Dr. Costley’s “Mount Rushmore of saints,” her hoped-for patronage, and how to pray for her
Get the Book
📘 From Sinai to Rome: Jewish Identity in the Catholic Church (Ignatius Press)
Ignatius Press
Episode Sponsor — Truthly
This episode is sponsored by Truthly, the Catholic action app that helps you reflect, learn, and share your faith with confidence. Start your free trial with code gottabesaints at Truthly’s website: Truthly
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The Reason to Stay Catholic (with Colleen Dulle)
In this episode of the Gotta Be Saints Podcast, I sit down with Colleen Dulle — wife, mother, Vatican reporter, and author of Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter.
We talk honestly about why we remain Catholic in a wounded Church: how to stay when you’ve seen the worst, how to wrestle with God without walking away, and where real hope is found when scandals, hypocrisy, and disappointment hit close to home.
From covering the clerical abuse crisis as a young journalist, to processing the revelations about Jean Vanier and L’Arche, to a powerful moment of grace at the tomb of Christ in the Holy Sepulchre, Colleen shares how the Lord has met her in the mess — and why, despite everything, she’s convinced the Gospel really is our only hope.
About Colleen Dulle
Vatican reporter and longtime journalist with America Magazine
Author of Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter
Has covered some of the Church’s most painful scandals up close
Wife and mother, soon moving with her family to Rome to cover the Vatican full-time
In this episode, we talk about:
Why stay Catholic at all? 
Colleen’s story & vocation as a Vatican reporter
Beauty and brokenness in the Church
The Jean Vanier / L’Arche revelations
The clerical abuse crisis and a crisis of faith
Learning to “yell at God” & wrestle in prayer
A moment of grace at the Holy Sepulchre
Madeleine Delbrêl and a “heart stripped of trust in all things human”
The Church that moves slowly (and why that matters)
Hope for ordinary Catholics
Colleen’s “Mount Rushmore of saints”
If she becomes a saint one day… and
How you can pray for her
 
Get the Book
📘 Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter by Colleen Dulle
Find purchase options and more at Colleen’s website: colleendulle.com
Prefer audio? Look for the audiobook version narrated by Colleen on major audiobook platforms.
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👉 Follow Gotta Be Saints on Instagram: @gottabesaints 

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In this episode of the Gotta Be Saints Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Michael Pakaluk — husband, father of 15, philosopher, and author of The Shock of Holiness: Finding the Romance of Everyday Life.
We talk about the beauty of the Catholic faith, why holiness is both deeply attractive and deeply demanding, and how God meets us in the very ordinary, sometimes messy, details of daily life.
From stories about daily Mass with small children, to reflections on his late wife Ruth (now a Servant of God), to a mind-blowing insight into Jesus walking on water and the Eucharist, this conversation will help you see your own life with new eyes.
About Dr. Michael Pakaluk
Professor of Political Economy at the Catholic University of America (Bush School of Business)
Philosopher and scholar, especially in the thought of Aristotle
Author of 14 books (with more on the way!) and father of 15 children
Widower of Ruth Pakaluk, whose cause for canonization has begun, and husband of Catherine Pakaluk, author of Hannah’s Children
In this episode, we talk about:
The beauty of the Catholic faith
Why holiness is so attractive — and so uncomfortable
Ruth’s story and the reality of heroic holiness
The universal call to holiness in ordinary life
The romance of everyday life
A fresh look at the Eucharist and transubstantiation
How to actually live this out
Get the Book
📘 The Shock of Holiness: Finding the Romance of Everyday Life
Order from Ignatius Press
Or ask your local Catholic bookstore to order it (and put a copy on the shelf!)
Stay Connected
👉 Follow Gotta Be Saints on Instagram: @gottabesaints 

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend who needs the reminder that holiness is possible — right in the middle of ordinary life.
Episode Sponsor — Truthly
This episode is sponsored by Truthly, the first Catholic action app helping you reflect, learn, and share your faith confidently.
 
Start your free trial with code gottabesaints: truthly.ai
Support the show