This deeply contextual biography centers on the tensions generated by the pope's attempt to turn the Church away from power and tradition and outwards to engage humanity with God's mercy. Through battles with corrupt bankers and worldly cardinals, in turbulent meetings and on global trips, history's first Latin-American pope has attempted to reshape the Church to evangelise the contemporary age. At the same time, he has stirred other leaders' deep-seated fear that the Church is capitulating to modernity - leaders who have challenged his bid to create a more welcoming, attentive institution. Facing rebellions over his allowing sacraments for the divorced and his attempt to create a more 'ecological' Catholicism, as well as a firestorm of criticism for the Church's record on sexual abuse, Francis emerges as a leader of remarkable vision and skill with a relentless spiritual focus - a leader who is at peace in the turmoil surrounding him. With entertaining anecdotes, insider accounts, and expert analysis, Ivereigh's journey through the key episodes of Francis's reform in Rome and the wider Church brings into sharp focus the frustrations and fury, as well as the joys and successes, of one of the most remarkable pontificates of the contemporary age.

Following his critically acclaimed The Great Reformer, Ivereigh's colourful, clear-eyed portrait of Pope Francis takes us inside the Vatican's urgent debate over the future of the church.

About the Author
Austen Ivereigh is a British writer, journalist, and commentator on religious and political affairs who holds a PhD from Oxford University. His work appears regularly in the Jesuit magazine America and in many other periodicals. He is well-known as a Catholic commentator for the BBC, Sky, ITV, and Al-Jazeera.


Book Information
ISBN 9781250763655
Author Austen Ivereigh
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Picador USA
Publisher St Martin's Press
Weight(grams) 439g
Dimensions(mm) 226mm * 145mm * 29mm