BOOK REVIEW Pope Francis’ call to action: Hope, the Autobiography

Exactly one month to the day before he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital, Pope Francis released his life story, Hope: the Autobiography.

Whatever thoughts he might have had during his illness about the book, there’s every chance ‘just in time’ is one of them.

And ‘just in time’ it was. With the guidance of editor Carlo Musso, the Pope provides readers with a detailed and intimate account of his personal and spiritual journey. Intended to be published after his death, it was released early to coincide with the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

The book touches on an astonishing range of topics including his ancestry, childhood, calling to the priesthood, international travels, health challenges, and global issues such as war, climate change, technology, artificial intelligence, and faith.

Love itself gets mentioned 116 times – a message in itself – where he ponders love in all its forms.

When it comes to amorous matters, His Holiness started early. Among the many pearls is the story of when little Jorge proposed marriage to Amalia Damonte, a primary school classmate in Argentina. It didn’t end well. The girl’s mother chased the suitor away with a broom! The youngsters went their separate ways: she to obscurity, he in years to come to a conclave that saw his election as head of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.

We read much about that conclave. Unlike in the movies, we don’t hear tales of shadowy schemes and backroom deals. Instead, we learn of quips and hints from his brother cardinals and others that he, Francis, might be the chosen one for the Chair of St Peter.

Characterised by honesty and humility, Francis’ memoir reveals both his sense of gratitude and his struggles with feelings of unworthiness. “I have lived a long life,” he said. “[Yet] I feel unworthy. I feel ungrateful, because in the face of so much good that I have received, I have made so many errors, so many mistakes.”

But where the Holy Father recognises his own shortcomings, he also finds moments of lightness and joy and emphasises these qualities in deepening our faith.

“We need that humour and smile when we encounter others, ” he writes. “Evangelisation…through an infection of joy and hope”.

“It means using your eyes to see the other, using your ears to hear the other, to hear the cry of the young, of the poor, of those who fear the future…’

“And after seeing, after listening, there is no saying. There is doing.”

When it comes to professing our faith, it should be ‘show not tell,’ he says.

“Restless and joyous, this is how we Christians must be.”

Hope: the Autobiography by Pope Francis with Carlo Musso and translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon is available from the Canberra Catholic Bookshop