An extraordinary personal and historical journey,  Life  is the story of a man and a world in dramatic change. Pope Francis recalls his life through memories and observations of the most significant occurrences of the past eight decades. The book opens with three-year-old Jorge in the kitchen with his mother in Argentina as World War II breaks out, and he goes on to witness several historic events:

•                the fall of the Berlin Wall
•                Videla’s coup in Argentina
•                the moon landing in 1969
•                and even the 1986 World Cup in which Maradona scored the unforgettable “hand of God” goal.

Here are the frank assessments and intimate insights of a pastor reflecting on the Nazi extermination of the Jews, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the 2001 terrorist attack on America and the collapse of the Twin Towers, the great economic recession of 2008, the Covid-19 pandemic, the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI, and the subsequent conclave that elected him Pontiff.

The “pope callejero” recounts these world-changing moments with the candor and compassion that distinguishes him, and offers important messages on major crises confronting us now, including social inequalities, climate change, international war, atomic weapons, racial discrimination, and the battles over social and cultural issues.

Translated from the Italian by Aubrey Botsford

Even when your face is lined with worries or fatigue, remember that you are always a light that shines through the night. This is the greatest gift you’ve ever received, and no one can take it away from you. Dream on! Never stop dreaming. Believe! Believe in even greater and more beautiful truths. Let yourself be surprised by love. This is what it means to Live Well. This is the greatest and most beautiful wish we can extend to each other.

Always.

Joy – the wholesome and concrete kind, the joy we have all been searching for since birth – will be the natural outcome. It won’t be an easy path; life’s difficulties and the pervasive pessimism and cynicism of our era will periodically make it difficult to recognize and welcome grace into our life. But the Pope guarantees us that is precisely when we open our hearts to providence and allow tenderness and mercy to enter that life becomes beautiful. It’s comforting to know that we can always begin again, that God can rebuild a story within us from the fragments. By letting ourselves be inspired by Pope Francis’ 15 Rules for a Good Life, we can revel in the wondrous creations that we are, and savour the experience of what it means to live authentically. And so, joy will spread, bringing goodness to all those who welcome and share its gift.