On January 8, 2021, our dear friend and my mentor, Donald O. Castell, passed away as part of this horrible COVID pandemic. Anointed the “Pope of Esophagology” by Professor Robert Guili, a Parisian surgeon, Don Castell’s name was synonymous with the field of esophageal motility and diseases of the esophagus. His legacy will be the countless young physicians he instilled a passion for esophageal research and the joys of a career in academic gastroenterology worldwide.