I am Rebecca Flavin – Director of Engaged Learning Curriculum and Senior Lecturer of Political Science at Baylor University. Whether you are a person of faith or not, I know that you will find Pope Francis’ autobiography “Hope” to be an inspirational read. The book was co-authored by Carlo Musso, the Pope’s long-time collaborator and grew out of conversations that began in Twenty Nineteen. The original plan was for the book to be published after Pope Francis’ death, but in celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope, the book was published in early January.
The book proceeds chronologically beginning before Pope Francis’ birth with his grandparents’ immigration from Italy to Argentina after World War One proceeding through his ordination and early years as a priest in Argentina and concluding with his papacy. However, the book does not follow a strict linear timeline. Each chapter has a theme that connects the past with the present, with reflections that are like short homilies that speak to passages from scripture, Catholic social teaching, but also literature, cinema, music, and art. I was surprised by how frequently the Pope contemplates secular works, taking his inspiration from the stories of broken and suffering people and finding in them hope.
In one of my favorite chapters of the autobiography entitled “Like a Child in Its Mother’s Arms,” Pope Francis reflects on the people and their role in the Church. He writes, “We need a myth in order to understand the living reality of the people.” Among the myths Pope Francis finds most compelling are works by Dostoyevsky, who he ranks among his favorite writers for his ability to create characters who are authentically human in their pain and suffering but also in their transformative humility and, ultimately, love.
The book also includes more than two dozen photos that give you a glimpse into Pope Francis’ life. He shares pictures of his family and his childhood, including an adorable one from a Carnaval celebration when he was four years old and dressed in costume. In another photo he is decked out in his cardinal’s hat and robes while grinning from ear to ear holding a football jersey he received as gift. The juxtaposition of the holy vestments and the ordinary items that you or I might have in our own closet makes the Pope extremely relatable and human. These images along with the chapter, “In the Image of a God Who Smiles,” will give you a glimpse into Pope Francis’ extraordinary sense of humor. He even includes a few jokes that I will not mention so that I do not spoil the punchline.
However, not all of the photos will spark joy. Pope Francis also includes images from his visits to a World War One cemetery in northern Italy and of a solitary trek through Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Throughout the autobiography Pope Francis reflects on the scourge of war and political violence – from his family’s immigration story to the current war in Ukraine. But Pope Francis’ message as he puts it is, “The truth is that a future cannot exist except in the realism, in the reasonableness, in the practicality, of sowers of peace and hope.”
And indeed, in Pope Francis’ autobiography, “Hope,” he endeavors to do just that – to show that ordinary individuals like you and me are capable of extraordinary acts of love.
Until the next episode of Likely Stories, I hope you find a good book that helps you to learn about people and places both real and imaginary!
