Life. My Story in History. Biography of Pope Francis

As he leafs through the pages of that precious book called life, Pope Francis leads us along a path made of emotions, joys, and sorrows: a window onto the past that will allow us to better understand our present. “The most important lesson must not be forgotten: we can reread the story of our lives to remember and to be able to pass something on to those who listen to us. To learn how to live, however, we must all learn how to love.” FRANCIS In recounting the story of his life here for the first time, tracing it through the events that have shaped humanity over the past eighty years, Pope Francis shares the origins of ideas that many consider bold and that define his pontificate: from his courageous statements against poverty and environmental destruction to his direct appeals to world leaders to chart a different course on issues such as dialogue among peoples, the arms race, and the fight against inequality. From the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 - when the future Pontiff was nearly three years old - to the present day, Jorge Mario Bergoglio takes female and male readers by the hand, accompanying them through his memories on an extraordinary journey across the decades. The Pope’s voice, with his deeply personal memories, alternates with that of a narrator who reconstructs the historical context in which they belong in each chapter. In the Pontiff’s words: “LIFE is being published so that, above all, younger people can hear the voice of an elderly person and reflect on what our planet has experienced, so as never to repeat the mistakes of the past. Think, for example, of the wars that have ravaged and continue to ravage the world. Think of genocides, persecutions, and hatred among brothers and sisters of different religions! What suffering! When we reach a certain age, it is important, also for our own sake, to reopen the book of our memories and remember: to learn by looking back through time, to rediscover the bad things, the toxic things we experienced together with the sins we committed, but also to relive all the good things God has sent us. It is an exercise in discernment that we should all undertake before it is too late!” HarperCollins Italia Editions (March 19, 2024)