Pope Francis’s Biography ‘Hope’ Is Published Today
Today, “Hope”, the autobiography of Pope Francis, arrives in bookstores worldwide – in many countries, it is published by Penguin Random House imprints. The first autobiography ever to be written by a pope himself is being published by Penguin Random House in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Spain, Portugal and Brazil, among other countries.
Today Pope Francis’ autobiography “Hope” arrives in bookstores in more than 80 countries simultaneously – and in many of those countries, it is published by Penguin Random House imprints: Random House in the U.S. and Viking in the U.K., Kösel-Verlag in Germany, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial in Spain and Portugal, and Companhia das Letras in Brazil. Audiobook editions were simultaneously produced by the various audiobook publishers of Penguin Random House. Originally, in accordance with Pope Francis’ wishes, publication was not planned until after his death, but the ecclesiastical jubilee of the Holy Year 2025 and the needs of our times have prompted him to make the work available now, according to the publisher.
Pope Francis’ autobiography is the first in history to be written by a pope himself. Pope Francis worked on it for six years. “The book of my life is the story of a journey of hope, a journey that I cannot separate from the journey of my family, of my people, of all God’s people,” writes Pope Francis, commenting on the book. “In every page, in every passage, it is also the book of those who have traveled with me, of those who came before, of those who will follow. An autobiography is not our own private story, but rather the baggage we carry with us. And memory is not just what we recall, but what surrounds us. It doesn’t speak only about what has been, but about what will be. It seems like yesterday, and yet it’s tomorrow. All is born to blossom in an eternal springtime. In the end, we will say only: I don’t recall anything in which You are not there.”
Pope Francis’ memoirs begin in the early years of the twentieth century with the story of his Italian roots and his ancestors’ adventure of emigration to Latin America, moving on to his childhood, adolescence, choice of vocation, adult life, covering the whole of his papacy up to the present day.. In “Hope,” according to the publisher, it is a “text of great narrative force.” Pope Francis writes unsparingly about the central concerns of his pontificate and addresses the most important issues of our time candidly, courageously and prophetically: war and peace, migration, environmental protection, social policy, the position of women, sexuality, technological progress and the future of the Church and religions. “Hope. The Autobiography” is complemented by impressive photographs, including private and previously unpublished images provided by the Pope himself.
Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was born on December 17, 1936 in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires as the son of Italian immigrants. He was the first-born of five siblings who lived in the well-known Flores district. He initially trained as a chemical technician, then obtained a degree in philosophy in 1963 before being ordained as a priest in 1969. In 1973, he was appointed provincial superior of the Jesuits in Argentina. In 1992, he was appointed auxiliary bishop and in 1998 archbishop of Buenos Aires. John Paul II appointed him Cardinal in 2001. He has been Bishop of Rome since March 13, 2013, making him the 266th Pope in the history of the Catholic Church. He has proclaimed 2025, the twelfth year of his pontificate, as a new Holy Year under the heading “Pilgrims of Hope.”
