Best Selling Books by Pope Francis

The complete text of Laudato Si’, the landmark encyclical letter from Pope Francis that, as Time magazine reported, “rocked the international community” In the Encyclical on Climate Change and Inequality, the beloved Pope exhorts the world to combat environmental degradation and its impact on the poor. In a stirring, clarion call that is not merely aimed at Catholic readers but rather at a wide, lay audience, the Pope cites the overwhelming scientific evidence of climate change, and does not hesitate to detail how it is the result of a historic level of unequal distribution of wealth. It is, in short, as the New York Times labeled it, “An urgent call to action . . . intended to persuade followers around the world to change their behavior, in hopes of protecting a fragile planet.” With an insightful and informative introduction by Harvard professor Naomi Oreskes, famed for her bestselling Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming.

May God grant that the entire Church be enriched and challenged by the work of the synodal assembly. May the pastors, consecrated men and women and lay faithful of the Amazon region strive to apply it, and may it inspire in some way every person of good will. (Pope Francis)Following the Amazon Synod held in Rome, October 2019, Pope Francis offers his own response to the process of dialogue and discernment in this Exhortation. He proposes a framework for reflection that can be applied concretely, not only to the life of the Amazon region, but to the whole world.

"This Exhortation is especially timely in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. First, because it represents an invitation to Christian families to value the gifts of marriage and the family, and to persevere in a love strengthened by the virtues of generosity, commitment, fidelity and patience. Second, because it seeks to encourage everyone to be a sign of mercy and closeness wherever family life remains imperfect or lacks peace and joy."Pope Francis

In Your Eyes I See My Words, Volume 3 brings together the homilies and speeches of Archbishop Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from 2009 through his election as Pope Francis on March 13, 2013. These writings provide an intimate glimpse into the theological, philosophical, scientific, and cultural-educational currents that forged the steady, loving, and nurturing leadership style with which Bergoglio guided the Church in Buenos Aires. That style has now done the same for the Church from Rome, a Church rocked by financial and moral scandals, and a world shaken by the first global pandemic in a century. These writings were kneaded—a word he uses when talking about the work of molding the souls and character of youth and seminarians—in the relationships he formed in his bus rides to work and in his intense contact with all segments of the population. Because of that careful and prayerful process of kneading they have found their full development in Bergoglio’s writing as Pope Francis, especially in Evangelii gaudium (November 2013); Gaudete et exsultate, On the call to sanctity (March 2018); and his encyclical Laudato si’ (May 2015). In this final volume of Bergoglio’s homilies and papers we meet European theologians and thinkers such as Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, and Bergoglio’s Uruguayan philosopher and friend, Methol Ferré, the literary figure Miguel Ángel Asturias, and Enrique Santos Discépolo, a singer and composer of tangos that decry corruption. In a prophetic conclusion, the last homily of this volume is an outline of the roadmap Pope Francis has followed throughout his papacy: one defined by ongoing love and care for God’s people and that seeks to spread God’s merciful anointing to those living on the margins of life.

Maybe you come from a happy family, a healthy family. Or maybe yours is a flawed family, a struggling family, a broken family. Maybe you're scared to get married and have a family. No matter who you are, you are part of a family, and Pope Francis wrote this love letter to you. He addresses all the myriad realities of families today with compassion, hope, and encouragement.Pope Francis sees marriage as a dynamic path to personal development and fulfillment. Instead of wasting energy worrying about our family struggles, we can find creative, transformative ways to offer truth, mercy, and hope to our loved ones. Love enables us to see, beyond all else, the great worth of a human being. With enthusiasm and joy, we can celebrate all that it means to be part of a family.

"Let us seek out others and embrace the world as it is, without fear of pain or a sense of inadequacy, because there we will discover all the goodness that God has planted in human hearts." ‚"‚€‚"Pope Francis Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, "Brothers and Sisters All" invites every Christian to be a Good Samaritan‚"‚€‚"to embrace and care for others with a humble and open heart. Pope Francis challenges us to rise above the isolation and discouragement that is so prevalent in our world today and to set our sights on Christ's call to love one another deeply and sacrificially. No one is disposable, Pope Francis reminds us, and every person is endowed with dignity as a daughter or and son of God. This truth allows us to acknowledge, appreciate, and love each person. It also allows us to meet people in their place of suffering‚"‚€‚"whether it be the physical suffering of hunger or exploitation, or the unseen suffering of loneliness

Brings together the full text of Laudato Si'with reflections by Sean McDonagh, one of the foremost Catholic proponents of ecological awareness. In addition to an overview of the history of Catholic teaching and the environment, he elaborates on several of the specific themes in the encyclical including climate change, biodiversity, water scarcity, the threats to the ocean, and the crisis of food. He concludes with prescriptions about what must be done to turn the vision of Pope Francis into a program of effective action. Each of us has a role to play. As Pope Francis observes, "All it takes is one good person to restore hope."

A month of thoughts from Pope Francis on the Virgin Mary.

Desiderio desideravi, the title of Pope Francis’s 2022 document on the sacred liturgy, comes from the Latin version of Luke 22:15: “I have earnestly desired (Desiderio desideravi) to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Pope Francis begins this beautiful and relatively short reflection on the beauty, goodness, and truth of the sacred liturgy by reminding us of the Most Holy Trinity’s love for us and desire for us. Responding to the need demonstrated by the desire of some Catholics for the pre-Vatican II Mass, Pope Francis encourages a deepening of our understanding of the Eucharist in order that we might fully appreciate the riches in the liturgy. The pope’s text is accompanied by a helpful introduction and commentary by prominent liturgical and sacramental theologian, Kevin W. Irwin.

What is prayer and why is it so important? Pope Francis teaches that prayer is the "heartbeat of the Church" and our "yes" to an encounter with God: In the human body, there are some essential functions, such as breathing and the beating of the heart. I like to imagine that the personal and communal prayer of us Christians is the breath, the heartbeat of the Church, which instills its strength in the service of those who work, study, teach; which makes fruitful the knowledge of educated people and the humility of simple people; which gives hope to the tenacity of those who fight injustice. Prayer is our saying "yes" to the Lord, to His love that reaches us; it is welcoming the Holy Spirit who, without ever growing weary, pours out love and life upon all. While we are not always conscious of our breath, we can never stop breathing, because this is the source of our physical life. In the same way, prayer is the source — the very breath — of our spiritual life. Each time we pray, we encounter God and come to share more fully in his life.

"The Sacraments are not mere appearances, they are not rituals; they are the power of Christ; Jesus Christ is present in the Sacraments." - Pope Francis Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Holy Matrimony, Reconciliation, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick - as Catholics we are familiar with the sacraments, and see them as mileposts in our lives. But, as Pope Francis so energetically reminds us, they are not simply observances, they are portals through which the Lord brings us all the power and graces that flow from his death and Resurrection. And wonderfully, each sacrament opens us to a personal encounter with Jesus. Now in 32 easy-to-read chapters Pope Francis reveals the truth and beauty of each Sacrament, teaching us not only what they mean to the Church, but to us as Catholics - ultimately motivating us each to share these incredible gifts with a needy world.

“The certainty that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. This is the heart of Christian hope.” In Pope Francis’ proclamation for the Jubilee of 2025, he encourages all of us to be signs of hope to the world. While we may not always feel optimistic about the future, we are called to be renewed in hope and to press forward in our Christian lives. He reminds us that as we do, we will also revive our trust in the Church, in our relationships, and in our ability to shine the light of Christ with those who most need it. Be encouraged and lifted by this proclamation of hope!

Some letters written previously to being Pope.

In his apostolic exhortation C'Est La Confiance ("It Is Confidence"), Pope Francis reflects on Saint Thérèse of Lisieux on the 150th anniversary of her birth. The title of the document is taken from words used by Saint Thérèse in a letter to a Carmelite sister expressing her full confidence in the merciful love of God. As she stated, "It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love." Thérèse (1873-1897), popularly known as the "Little Flower," is one of the best known and most beloved saints. Pope Francis writes that "[w]e would do well to delve more deeply into her message" shared in her Story of a Soul as well as the example she set forth with her "little way" of life — the path of trust and love. Therese, for her part, wished to highlight the primacy of God's action; she encourages us to have complete confidence as we contemplate the love of Christ poured out to the end," Pope Francis writes. "With confidence, the wellspring of grace overflows into our lives, the Gospel takes flesh within us and makes us channels of mercy for our brothers and sisters."

A response to the Synod on Young People, Christ Is Alive! is a passionate call for every Christian to embrace their role in the Church, to bring the gospel everywhere, and to meet young people where they are. +

Invites readers to prayerfully reflect on Pope Francis's words from his Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde, on St. Joseph, and to apply them to our lives. Enriched with beautiful, colorful fine art illustrations.

In his fourth encyclical, Dilexit Nos ("He loved us"), Pope Francis writes, at a time of profound global challenges, on the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ. As Pope Francis observes, "We find ourselves immersed in societies of serial consumers who live from day to day, dominated by the hectic pace and bombarded by technology, lacking in the patience needed to engage in the processes that an interior life by its very nature requires." The Holy Father calls for a change of perspective, urging humanity to rediscover what is most essential: the heart. In Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis invites us to reflect on aspects of the Lord's love that could illuminate the path of ecclesial renewal and resonate meaningfully with "a world that seems to have lost its heart." This encyclical, which includes reflections from Sacred Scripture and previous magisterial teachings, reintroduces the Church to the spiritually profound devotion to the Sacred Heart. The encyclical's release coincides with ongoing celebrations commemorating the 350th anniversary of the first appearance of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673, when he revealed to her his Sacred Heart.

This brief book, excerpted from the papal exhortation Amoris Laetitia, distills for those about to be married, just married, or living their marriage, the essence of the value of a lifelong union and the beauty of the vocation to marriage. In addition, Pope Francis speaks of the reality of family and of children, who are a living reflection of the couple's love, a permanent sign of their conjugal unity, and a living and inseparable synthesis of their being a father and a mother. +

Gathered from the writings and discourses of Pope Francis on the environment, Our Mother Earth sets forth a Christian vision of ecology. Responding to our global ecological crisis, Pope Francis says, will require a global approach in which "the whole human family in the search for a sustainable and integral development" unites to protect our common home. Pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity, and exploitation of resources will grow exponentially if we do not change our direction in the short term. We need an "environmental conversion," Pope Francis says. For this to be possible, we need a truly ecological education to create a renewed awareness and a renewed conscience. In an exclusive new essay that concludes Our Mother Earth, Pope Francis develops a "theology of ecology" in a profoundly spiritual discourse. This final chapter offers thoughts on how a Christian vision of care for the earth goes well beyond a secular vision of ecology. "This means that it is for humanity's capacity for communion to condition the state of creation. … It is therefore humanity's destiny to determine the destiny of the universe."

Drawn from his writings, speeches, and homilies, this collection by Pope Francis lays out the comprehensive vision behind his historic encyclical Laudato Si' and shows how concern for the earth calls for a profound conversion of values that involves a new understanding of our relation to God's Creation.

In his apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum ("Praise God"), Pope Francis addresses environmental concerns in the world with the respect to human life and dignity. This follow-up to his encyclical Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home looks at what has happened since 2015 when the encyclical was released and what still needs to be done. Pope Francis expounds upon the theme of human ecology presented in Laudato Si' and the idea that humans and the environment are inextricably intertwined. This new document focuses in particular on the most recent extreme weather events and catastrophes affecting people across five continents. The Holy Father urges greater environmental action and notes how environmental degradation can lead to human degradation, especially in how the poor and marginalized are treated. Laudate Deum was released on October 4, the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the pope's namesake whose words open Laudato Si'.

In his new encyclical "FRATELLI TUTTI", Pope Francis calls for a more fraternal society that does not just continue as before after the Corona crisis. What are the great ideals and the concretely practicable ways for those who want to build a more just and fraternal world in daily relationships, in society, in politics, in institutions? This is the question that "Fratelli tutti" intends to answer: the Pope defines it as a "social encyclical" which takes its title from the 'Admonitions' of St. Francis of Assisi, who used those words "to address all the brothers and sisters and offer them a form of life with the flavor of the Gospel ". The Encyclical aims to promote a universal aspiration toward fraternity and social friendship. In the background of the Encyclical is the Covid-19 pandemic which, Francis reveals, "unexpectedly erupted" as he "was writing this letter". But the global health emergency has helped demonstrate that "no one can face life in isolation" and that the time has truly come to "dream, then, as a single human family" in which we are "brothers and sisters all".

Lumen fidei - The light of faith (LF) is the first Encyclical signed by Pope Francis. This letter to the Church-begun by Benedict XVI and completed by Pope Francis-is a celebration of Christian faith as the guiding light of a "successful and fruitful life," inspiring social action as well as devotion to God, and illuminating "every aspect of human existence," including philosophy and the natural sciences. The Encyclical presents us with a broad vista of the magnitude of the faith question, addressing Faith and truth, Knowledge of the truth and love, Faith as hearing and sight, The dialogue between faith and reason, Faith and the search for God and Faith and theology.