Pope Francis died on April 21, Easter Monday, after leading a global church of nearly 1.3 billion Catholics for more than a decade. The Argentine-born Francis had served as pope since 2013, when his predecessor, Pope Benedict, made the shocking decision to resign; Benedict said at the time that he could no longer shoulder the weight. Francis, who was 88 years old and one of the oldest pontiffs in this history of the Catholic Church, thought it was a job for life.
Even so, in Life: My Story Through History (HarperOne), his March 2024 book of observances on momentous events he experienced, Pope Francis writes that he had already left a resignation letter with the Vatican Secretary of State in case of the "distant possibility" that he could not carry on. However, he added in the book, "there is no risk of it." But after 12 years, Francis, who maintained a demanding schedule even as he endured repeated hospitalizations and falls, was weakened by five weeks in the hospital with double pneumonia and related complications. He died less than 24 hours after riding through crowds in St. Peter's Square, blessing children who flocked toward him, reaching out—with his arms and with his words.
Perhaps as his health failed, Francis sensed time would run out on the impact he could have. His first full memoir, Hope (written with Carol Russo for Random House), originally planned to be published after his death, went on sale in late January because, according to the publisher, "the needs of our times and the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope have moved him to make this precious legacy available now." Now, Francis would have his final say on the challenges facing an ancient faith in the modern world.
In his time as Bishop of Rome, Francis contended with friction within the church and society over the hottest questions of today. Can or should the Church bless gay marriage? Ordain women as priests? Permit politicians who support abortion rights to take communion? Champion efforts to combat climate change? Make care for the poor and refugees central to living the faith?
"My people are poor and I am one of them," was a frequent refrain of the first pontiff from the Western Hemisphere. He was born to Italian immigrant parents in Buenos Aires in December 1936 as Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He became a priest in 1969, a Jesuit in 1973, a bishop in 1992, Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, and a cardinal in 2001. With Bergoglio's election by the College of Cardinals, he became Francis, the 266th pope of the Catholic Church. Upon his appointment, the Image, an imprint of the PRH Christian Publishing Group, released an English translation of a 2010 dialogue on religion and reason that then-Cardinal Bergoglio had coauthored with Rabbi Abraham Skorka in Argentina, On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century.
Over the years, Image published seven more titles by the pope, concluding with I Am Asking in the Name of God: Ten Prayers for a Future of Hope in October 2023. Campbell Wharton, SVP and Publisher for Image, told PW, “To be a part of sharing his legacy with the world in his own words is a privilege we hold with great reverence and gratitude."
Five years into Francis's papacy, traditionalist Catholics were up in arms, not charmed by the popular, pastoral pope who followed the conservative, doctrinaire theologian Benedict. In 2018, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote To Change The Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism (Simon & Schuster) detailing the view that the 21st-century-minded Francis could be undermining the ancient Catholic Church's doctrines on "the authority of Scripture, the nature of the sacraments, the definition of sin, the means of redemption, the true identity of Jesus, the very nature of God.”
Francis—as an author or a subject—was a popular topic for Catholic and secular publishers alike.
To start, there are a number of titles "by" him based on the publicly published texts from the Vatican. These range from his four Encyclicals (major theological essays on matters of faith, morals, and social issues such as mercy, justice, and saving the environment) to seven Apostolic Exhortations (letters to the Church detailing doctrine or encouraging the faithful), to titles featuring excerpts from thousands of homilies he delivered to vast Vatican audiences.
A PW reviewer called Francis's 2014 book, The Church of Mercy: A Vision for the Church (Loyola), the first of many collections of homilies and public addresses, a "mission statement " for the "Church of the Poor," and a call to "alleviate pain suffering, loneliness, and dread." For Walking With Pope Francis: The Official Documents in Everyday Language (Orbis, 2023), theology professor and priest James H. Kroeger made 10 of Francis's most influential Vatican writings accessible to general readers. And this February, Faithwords, a division of Hachette, released a collection of bite-sized Pope Francis quotes titled I Want You to Be Happy: Finding Peace and Abundance in Everyday Life.
Pope Francis also gave numerous interviews to journalists who published them in collections. He was the subject of biographies and analytical works by historians, theologians, and scholars. PW spoke with several publishers and bestselling Catholic authors to highlight titles they believe best represented Pope Francis's writings or opened up his life story and spiritual formation to readers.
Rev. Mark-David Janus, who retired last year as publisher of Paulist Press, said Francis differed from the scholarly Benedict and the philosophical John Paul II. Janus likened Francis to a pastor who spoke and wrote "for the people in the pew and for people who have never been in any pew," pointing out the 2015 Encyclical on the environment for example. "When he writes in Laudato Si, 'We have made the earth a garbage dump' you don’t have to be a believer to understand what he is getting at," Janus added.
Laudato Si (Praise Be to You – On Care For Our Common Home) develops Francis's view that the Church must take a stand on pollution, climate change, access to clean water, loss of biodiversity, and the breakdown of society in the light of global inequality. "For me, it's his masterwork," said bestselling Catholic author Rev. James Martin (My Life with the Saints). "It framed the climate change crisis for almost the first time from an overtly spiritual perspective."
For Paul McMahon, president and publisher for Paulist, the pope's most important writings "all stem from his powerful documents that portray his vision for the church and the world." In Francis's first Apostolic Exhortation in 2013, Evangelii gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), "he stresses the importance of encountering Christ," said McMahon. "The pope has often been criticized for not presenting a more 'black-and white' doctrine for Catholics, not providing clarity on rules for how we should live our lives. The pope, however, has been more concerned about leading people to encounter the mercy of God."
Among biographies of Francis, McMahon highlighted one of the first major works, Pope Francis: Life and Revolution: A Biography of Jorge Bergoglio (Loyola, 2014) by journalist Elisabetta Piqué, which he called "a profound portrait of his upbringing," his spiritual formation, and rise through the clerical ranks of the Church.
Rev. Thomas Reese, a scholar, columnist for Religion News Service, and former editor of the Jesuit magazine America, directed attention to two of British journalist Austen Ivereigh's books. In The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope (Picador, 2015), Ivereigh deals with the forces that shaped the future pope in, while she explores his controversial papacy in The Wounded Shepherd: Pope Francis and His Struggle to Convert the Catholic Church (Henry Holt, 2019).
Joellyn Cicciarelli, president and publisher for Loyola Press, told PW her favorite among the publisher's several titles featuring Francis might well be Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Questions from Children Around the World. It was the first children's book published by a sitting pope and a New York Times bestseller in 2016. It centers on 30 letters from kids asking about such topics as atheism, war, Jesus's life and miracles, the nature and actions of God, and more. The publishing house followed in 2018 with Sharing the Wisdom of Time, a coffee table book of reflections on work, struggle, love, death, and hope by Francis and elders from 30 countries. The book later served as the basis for a Netflix series.
"People of any age can find Pope Francis masterfully expressing the mysteries of our Catholic faith," Cicciarelli said. "At the end of the day, as a publisher, I’m looking for words and messages that draw as many people as possible closer to God through Jesus Christ and perhaps have their lives transformed in the process."
