Hope: autobiography of Pope Francis goes on sale

Esperanzathe first autobiography of Pope Francis, will arrive on Tuesday, January 14, in bookstores in Italy and will be on sale from the 16th in more than 100 countries.

This is the first time in history that a Pope narrates in first person the episodes that have marked his life, from his childhood in Argentina in a family of Italian emigrants to becoming the successor of Saint Peter.

The work, of 400 pages and published by the Plaza & Janés publishing house (Penguin Libros), is the result of six years of work and has been written with the collaboration of journalist Carlos Musso, who has helped the Holy Father tell his story.

In addition to his memoirs, the Pontiff addresses other issues such as war and peace, migration, the environmental crisis, social policy, sexuality or the future of the Catholic Church. All of this, under the imprint of hope, a term chosen in line with the Jubilee that is celebrated this year on the occasion of the 2025 years of the birth of Christ.

According to Pope Francis in a recent interview, the book was scheduled to be published after his death. “But since I am not dying (laughs), they are afraid that it will lose relevance and they decided to do it now,” said the Holy Father last December in conversation with the Argentine journalist Bernarda Llorente.

The Holy Father, according to the extracts provided by the publishing house, begins his memoirs with an episode that marked his destiny. This is the shipwreck of the ocean liner “Princesa Mafalda”, known as the “Italian Titanic”.

His grandparents, along with his father Mario, bought the tickets to travel on the ship that left Genoa on October 11, 1927 for Buenos Aires. However, they finally did not board because they were not able to sell their belongings in time. “That is why I am here now, you cannot imagine how many times I have thanked Divine Providence,” says the Pontiff in his autobiography.

He also brings to the present the memories of his childhood at “number 531 Membrillar Street” in the Argentine neighborhood of Flores, as well as the friendships he forged there, including with a prostitute known as “Parota,” who decided to change her life and leave the streets to care for the elderly.

“Healthy irony” as medicine against narcissism

The Holy Father dedicates a large space of his autobiography to reflecting on the value of a sense of humor to confront sadness and “healthy irony” as medicine against narcissism.

“Irony is medicine, not only to elevate and enlighten others, but also towards oneself, because self-irony is a powerful tool to overcome the temptation of narcissism. Narcissists continually look in the mirror, paint themselves, observe themselves over and over again, but the best advice in front of a mirror is to always laugh at yourself. It will do us good,” the Pontiff indicates in the book.

Throughout its pages, the reader will even find some jokes told by the Pontiff himself. The Italian newspaper Future one of them has advanced:

“I have also been told one that affects me directly, that of Pope Francis in America. More or less it goes like this: as soon as he lands at the New York airport for his apostolic trip to the United States, Pope Francis finds a huge limousine waiting for him. He feels a little uncomfortable with so much luxury, but then he thinks that it’s been a long time since he’s driven and never a car like that, so he says to himself: well, but when will this happen to me again…? He looks at the limousine and asks the driver: ‘Wouldn’t it be possible for you to let me try it out?’ And the driver: ‘Look, I’m very sorry, Your Holiness, but I really can’t do it, you know what the procedures are like, the protocol…’”.

“But you know what the Pope is like when he gets something into his head, so he insists, insists, until finally the driver gives in. So, Pope Francis gets behind the wheel on one of those enormous avenues and… he gets excited, he starts stepping on the accelerator: 50 per hour, 80, 120… Until suddenly a siren sounds and a police car catches up to him and takes him. stops. A young policeman approaches the dark window, the Pope, a little intimidated, lowers it, and the policeman turns pale. “Wait a minute,” he says, and returns to his car to call headquarters. ‘Boss… I think I have a problem.’ And the boss answers: ‘What’s the problem?’ ‘Well, I’ve stopped a car for speeding… but there’s someone really important inside.’ ‘How important? Is he the mayor?’ ‘No, boss, more than the mayor…’. ‘And more than the mayor, who is there? The governor?’ ‘No, even more…’. ‘Will he be the president?’ ‘More, I think…’. ‘And who can be more important than the president?’ ‘Look, boss, I don’t know who you are, but I’m telling you that the Pope is your driver!’”