“I like to be punctual, it is a virtue that I have learned to appreciate,” wrote Pope Francis in the fifth chapter of his biography, which will be published on Tuesday in 18 languages, adding that he considers it “a sign of good manners and respect, come quickly.”
Unfortunately, since he was just born, Francis writes, he arrived a week late, and a doctor had to be called, who sat on his mother's stomach and began to “press and 'jump'” to give birth.
“And so it was that I came into the world,” wrote Francis.
“Hope: An Autobiography,” by Pope Francis – a 320-page collection of papal memoirs and poems on the major social and political issues of our time, including climate change, poverty, immigration, arms control and war – is being billed by English-language publisher, Random House , as a “historic book” and “the first memoir published by a sitting Pope.”
That's not technically true. That honor is part of Pope Pius II's 15th-century writings, “The Commentaries,” a 13-book account of his life considered a key text in Renaissance humanism.
Francis is also not the first pope to share his life story. As a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger wrote an autobiography published in 1997, eight years before he became Pope Benedict XVI, and he and his predecessor, John Paul II, wrote letters and reporters that were personal threads and not official papal documents.
But for readers, including faithful Roman Catholics, “Hope” recreates the colorful world in which the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio grew up – a world where immigrants from different countries and colorful figures, including prostitutes, “the mistress of his purse.” ” aunts, and other memorable family members.
People who watch Francis closely will notice in his many biographies his views from his various encyclicals, his weekly addresses at the Vatican and speeches during his travels. “Hope,” however, draws a line from childhood events and encounters that have shaped Francis' thinking to this day.
Francis' unwavering support for immigrants, he writes, stems from his background as the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina. His aversion to war – “anyone who makes war is bad. God is peace,” he writes in “Hope”—finding roots in his grandfather's wartime experiences in World War I. “Nono described the horror, the pain, the fear, the senseless purposelessness of war,” he writes. A left-leaning medical researcher he met before entering seminary “taught me to think — that is, to think about politics.”
There are many personal memories described in the book: As a young teacher teaching creative writing, Francis writes, his students nicknamed him “Carucha” or “Babyface.” He remembers that he once helped Jorge Luis Borges who was almost blind to shave. He was an unknown person who recited the Lord's Prayer every night because he had promised his mother that he would do so, and who was going to die with the last rites.”
Francis is no stranger to dealing with journalists. A book about his life written in interviews he gave to Argentinian journalist Sergio Rubin was published when he was Cardinal of Buenos Aires.
Since he became pope there have been many others: Francis wrote “Let Us Dream,” a first-person account that explores whether grief can be a good catalyst for change, during the violence of the coronavirus, with his biographer Austen Ivereigh. The book made the New York Times bestseller list. Last year, Life, a book rich in anecdotes written with Fabio Marchese Ragona, was published worldwide, and made the Times list.
“Hope” was six years in the making and is one of the world's best kept secrets in publishing. Originally, Francis intended for the autobiography to be published after his death, but last summer, he changed his mind so that the publication would coincide with the Jubilee of 2025, the Holy Year of the Catholic Church that occurs every quarter of a century.
Mondadori, an Italian publisher, announced the book's imminent release at last year's Frankfurt Book Fair, sparking excitement, not least among Francis biographers.
The history of his life was an opportunity, said Mr. Iverneigh in the interview, “for Francis to enter the episodes of his life, where his biographers, including me,” speculated, argued “and sometimes it is difficult to explain.”
But while it is rich in anecdotes about Francis' childhood in a Buenos Aires barrio, the episodes Mr.
For example, Francis says little about his years in the Vatican. His comment that “the reform of the Roman Curia was a very difficult thing, and for a long time there was great resistance to change” does not give details about the struggles involved.
“The pope is the pope and it's a pleasure to have his views shared with the masses,” said Mr. But, he added, “I was frankly disappointed” when I discovered that much of the original information was based on his childhood years.
Perhaps the most important excerpt from the book is Francis' recollection of his visit to Iraq in 2021, which was published as an excerpt in the Jesuit magazine America in December. Francis wrote that he survived two failed assassination attempts. The former governor of Nineveh later denied that such events had ever taken place. The Times also published an excerpt from his biography in December, this one about having faith in humor.
Gian Maria Vian, former editor-in-chief of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, said he appreciated the “many personal details” the book added to Francis' biography, but that much was written in “stained glass.”
Francis wrote this book with Mr. Musso, a former publishing director from Mondadori who recently founded an independent publishing house. The idea started in 2019 and the work started a year later.
“I was honored by his trust,” said Mr. Musso. “I don't think he wanted an autobiography to talk about himself, but using his memories, his stories, to talk about everyone and everyone, even the most difficult times.”
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