CV NEWS FEED // Pope Francis just announced that he will publish an autobiography that he hopes will help young people reflect on “what our planet has experienced” and “relive all the good that God has sent us.”
“In this book we tell a story, the story of my life, through the most important and dramatic events that humanity has experienced over the past eighty years,” Pope Francis said in a press release from HarperCollins, who will publish the book.
This book was written so that people, especially younger people, can listen to the voice of an elderly person and reflect on what our planet has experienced, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Consider the wars that have plagued and are plaguing the world, the genocides, the persecutions, the hatred between brothers and sisters of different religions! How much pain!
Francis said that as he ages, he believes it’s important “to reopen the book of memories and make memories: to learn by looking back in time, to find the things that are not good, the toxic things we have experienced along with the sins we have committed, but also to relive all the good that God has sent us.”
“It is an exercise in discernment that we should all do, before it is too late!” he added.
The book, Life. My Story Through History, will detail Pope Francis’s life from age three to present day but with a twist. He will highlight historical events through his own eyes, alongside the voice of a second narrator, Fabio Marchese Ragona, a journalist and vatican expert for the Italian media company Mediaset, who will describe the historical background of the Pope’s life.
“Pope Francis tells for the first time the story of his life through the events that have marked humanity—from the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 when he was almost three years old, to the present day,” the press release said of the book.
Life is an extraordinary journey through the decades to retrace the most significant stages of our time through the memories of the Pope. These include the fall of Berlin Wall, Videla’s coup in Argentina, the moon landing in 1969, and even the 1986 World Cup where Maradona scored “the hand of God” goal that went down in history.
In the book, Pope Francis will also discuss issues such as social inequality, climate change, war and atomic weapons, as well as racial discrimination and pro-life battles.
“Consider the wars that have plagued and are plaguing the world, the genocides, the persecutions, the hatred between brothers and sisters of different religions! How much pain!” Pope Francis said.
The HarperCollins press released continued:
The book is filled with memories of a pastor who, from his very personal point of view, recounts the Nazi extermination of the Jews, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the great economic recession of 2008, the collapse of the Twin Towers, the pandemic, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, and the conclave that elected him as Pope Francis. The “pope callejero” [pilgrim pope] reopens the treasure chest of his memories to recount these moments that changed the world with the candor that distinguishes him.
The book, to be released on March 26, 2024, will be the first of Pope Francis’s works to be published by HarperCollins.
“We are honored to be publishing Pope Francis’ book,” said Brian Murray, President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers. “From his life in Argentina to his election as the Pontifex of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has lived an exceptional life bearing witness to some of the most defining moments in recent history. We look forward to bringing his story to readers around the world.”
“HarperCollins Publishers is the second largest consumer book publisher in the world, with operations in 15 countries,” continued the release. “With 200 years of history and more than 120 branded imprints around the world, HarperCollins publishes approximately 10,000 new books every year in 16 languages.”