Pope Francis will reflect on his life and share his thoughts on hot-button issues in a new book.
HarperCollins announced in a news release that it will publish the pontiff’s Life, My Story Through History in the U.S. as well as several other countries in North America, South America, and Europe.
Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and worked as a bouncer and a chemist before becoming a Jesuit priest in 1969. He was an archbishop and cardinal before ascending to the papacy in 2013, becoming the first Jesuit elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church.
Francis’ book, Harper Collins says, will be “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 [the] Berlin Wall, [Jorge Rafael] Videla’s coup in Argentina, the moon landing in 1969, and even the 1986 World Cup where [Diego] Maradona scored ‘the hand of God’ goal that went down in history.”
The book will also feature Francis’ thoughts on climate change, racism, war, and abortion. Parts of the book will be written by journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona, who will provide historical context on the pope’s life.
In a statement, Francis said, “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. 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.”
Life, My Story Through History is slated for publication in the spring of 2024.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
