This is Pope Francis' story for you today: the departure point for your birth or rebirth, whatever form that may take. It is the glowing centre that sustains life, whatever your age. You are a wonder of creation.

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.

About the Author

The first Pope of the Americas, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, hails from Argentina. The 76-year-old Jesuit Archbishop of Buenos Aires is a prominent figure throughout the continent, yet remains a simple pastor who is deeply loved by his diocese, throughout which he has travelled extensively on the underground and by bus during the 15 years of his episcopal ministry.

He was born in Buenos Aires on 17 December 1936, the son of Italian immigrants. His father Mario was an accountant employed by the railways and his mother Regina Sivori was a committed wife dedicated to raising their five children. He graduated as a chemical technician and then chose the path of the priesthood, entering the Diocesan Seminary of Villa Devoto. On 11 March 1958 he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus. He completed his studies of the humanities in Chile and returned to Argentina in 1963 to graduate with a degree in philosophy from the Colegio de San Jose in San Miguel. From 1964 to 1965 he taught literature and psychology at Immaculate Conception College in Santa Fe and in 1966 he taught the same subject at the Colegio del Salvatore in Buenos Aires. From 1967-70 he studied theology and obtained a degree from the Colegio of San Jose.

He was elected Supreme Pontiff on 13 March 2013.

Book Information
ISBN 9781399811958
Author Pope Francis
Format Hardback
Page Count 208
Imprint John Murray Publishers Ltd
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 320g
Dimensions(mm) 220mm * 140mm * 26mm