Hope by Pope Francis review – the first memoir by a living pontiff

A historic papal autobiography offers unique insights into the challenges faced by the leader of the Catholic church, but skates over scandals

At 88 years of age, Pope Francis is the oldest pontiff for more than a century. Yet, after major surgery in 2023, and persistent knee problems that require the use of a wheelchair, he shows no sign of calling it a day. Now, he has decided that an autobiography, originally planned to be published after his death, should come out to coincide with the Jubilee year he has called for the Roman Catholic church in 2025.

As the first ever memoir by a pope, Hope is a publisher’s dream, with a rich backstory culminating in Francis’s election in 2013. It recounts how, as Jorge Bergoglio, grandchild of Italian immigrants to Argentina, he grew up in a sprawling family, loved football and the tango (which he calls “an emotional, visceral dialogue that comes from afar, from ancient roots”), studied chemistry, then joined the Jesuit order and became a priest. After dallying with Peronism and enduring the Argentinian junta, he became the cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires. Then, just as he was planning his retirement, Benedict XVI resigned and he was chosen as his successor.

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