AP journalists documented intimate, uplifting moments behind 2025’s biggest headlines. In suburban Chicago a reporter captured a surprise speakerphone call between Pope Leo XIV and his brother. In Seattle an AP photographer woke a scientist at 3:45 a.m. to tell her she had won a Nobel Prize. Reporters also chronicled resilience: a typhoon wedding in the Philippines and a youth musical staged days after the Palisades Fire in California.
Behind the Scenes: AP Captures 2025’s Most Uplifting Moments — From a Surprise Call With Pope Leo XIV to a Typhoon Wedding
FILE - John Prevost, brother of new Pope Leo XIV, holds a portrait of the three Prevost brothers from 1958, Pope Leo, 3, left, John, 4, and Louis, 7, at his home, May 8, 2025, in New Lenox, Ill. (AP Photo/Obed Lamy, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
In a year defined by political tension, natural disasters and global uncertainty, Associated Press journalists found and recorded moments of quiet joy and human resilience. From a surprise speakerphone chat with the newly elected Pope Leo XIV to a wedding that went ahead amid typhoon floods, these scenes reveal the small, powerful moments that followed big headlines.
The pope was on the line
One of 2025’s most widely covered events — the selection of the first American pope, Pope Leo XIV — produced an unexpectedly tender moment captured by an AP reporter visiting the new pontiff’s brother in suburban Chicago. While the reporter and the brother, Prevost, were talking at the family home, a phone rang in the basement. The brother quipped, “That might be the pope.”
FILE - Mary E. Brunkow speaks on the phone during an interview after winning a Nobel Prize in medicine for part of her work on peripheral immune tolerance, in Seattle, Oct. 6, 2025, next to her is her dog Zelda. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Video journalist Obed Lamy listened and recorded as the call went to speakerphone. The new pontiff, who had appeared hours earlier on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, asked his older brother why he had not been answering calls. The exchange lasted only a few minutes but felt intimate and ordinary: siblings checking in.
“I was shaking because I didn’t know what the pope would say,” Lamy recalled. “Am I supposed to say something or not say anything?”
Breaking the news of a Nobel prize
In Seattle, an AP photographer became the bearer of life-changing news at 3:45 a.m. After a confusing GPS route and a quiet, dark front yard, the photographer knocked and was answered through a glass door by Mary’s husband, Ross. To avoid spoiling the moment without another way in, the photographer blurted out, “Sir, your wife just won the Nobel Prize.”
FILE - Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo, right, and Jamaica kiss during their wedding inside a flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Philippines, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Ross let the photographer inside and led a groggy Mary to the kitchen. At first the couple was incredulous — “Don’t be ridiculous,” Mary allegedly said when first told — but as missed calls and messages from Sweden were confirmed, shock gave way to joy. The photographer captured the stunned, elated first moments as Mary sifted through calls, emails and congratulations.
A wedding that wouldn’t be stopped by floods
An AP photographer raced against rising waters in the Philippines to reach a typhoon-flooded church for a planned wedding. After driving through heavy rain and several flooded roads, the vehicle could go no further. A passing rescue truck provided the lift the photographer needed to arrive just before the bridal party opened the church doors.
FILE - Callum Ganz, 17, center, gives a pre-show pep talk to castmates in Crazy for You on opening night as the Theatre Palisades Youth group returns to the stage after losing their theater in the Palisades fire, in Los Angeles, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jocelyn Gecker, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Groom Jade Rick Verdillo told the photographer they were determined to proceed. “We’ve been through a lot. This is just one of the struggles that we’ve overcome,” he said. Rather than shooting only the ceremonial highlights, the photographer stayed through the reception, capturing the full arc of the couple’s day.
Youth theater rises from wildfire ashes
In California, a youth theater troupe pressed on with rehearsals for the musical Crazy for You despite the Palisades Fire’s devastation. Rehearsals began on Jan. 6 and the fire swept through the community the next day. Director Lara Ganz, who lost her home in the blaze, insisted the show go on to restore routine, hope and community for children who had lost so much.
Opening night blended grief and celebration — heartbreak and pride — and for many it was a light in a dark time. One teen performer said that while singing and dancing to George and Ira Gershwin’s music, “the weight of my loss lifted.” After the AP story ran, members of the Gershwin family trust read about the production, attended a later performance and delivered a letter praising the cast’s resilience and dedication.
These scenes — private, improvised, resilient — are reminders that amid big global events, small human moments can be deeply moving and newsworthy. AP journalists were at the center of many such moments in 2025, offering glimpses of dignity, surprise and hope.
