With more than four decades of firsthand experience reporting from Vatican City, David Willey explores the religious and personal background of Pope Francis and his ability to fulfill the promises of reform made during the first two years of his papacy.Sex crimes and cover-ups, financial scandal, declining membership, and the unprecedented resignation of its chief executive, Pope Benedict XVI. These were the ingredients of a twenty-first century crisis in the Vatican—a crisis that might have anticipated the election of a steadily conservative pope, a career bureaucrat, and an insider. An operator. Instead they chose Francis. Using his unparalleled access and knowledge of the inner workings of the Vatican, BBC correspondent David Willey chronicles Francis’s first two years as pope and analyzes what could happen in the years to come. He tells the inside story of how this most unlikely man came from “the end of the world” to lead the world’s largest corporation into the future, stirring millions to interest and faith again through his frank speeches and benevolent beliefs. In putting this all into context, Willey seeks to further unravel the mysteries and conspiracies that continue to surround the worldwide headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. The world has never seen the Church in a greater state of flux, as Francis’s words and deeds have enchanted, entertained, and sometimes enraged the public. In this comprehensive biography complete with full-color photography, David Willey explores the religious and personal background of the inspirational Pope Francis, his stunning impact on the Catholic Church, the hopes he has raised, and the legacy he will leave behind.

Product Description: Pope Benedict XIV Lambertini (r. 1740–58) was one of the driving forces behind the Italian Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. His campaign to reconcile faith and empirical science, re-launch a dialogue between the Church and the European intellectual community, and expand papal patronage of the arts and sciences helped restore Italy’s position as a center of intellectual and artistic innovation...read more

Product Description: From his first appearance on a Vatican balcony Pope Francis proved himself a Pope of Surprises. With a series of potent gestures, history's first Jesuit pope declared a mission to restore authenticity and integrity to a Catholic Church bedevilled by sex abuse and secrecy, intrigue and in-fighting, ambition and arrogance...read more

Product Description: For the past two years Pope Francis has enchanted and bewildered the world in equal measure with his compassion and his contradictions. Expanding greatly on his acclaimed earlier book Pope Francis: Untying the Knots, Paul Vallely reexamines the complex past of Jorge Mario Bertoglio and adds nine new chapters, revealing many untold, behind-the-scenes stories from his first years in office that explain this Pope of paradoxes...read more

Product Description: First JesuitFirst Latin AmericanA new pope who chose as his first act a simple request: please pray for me.The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI took the world by surprise and for good reason. More than six hundred years had passed since a pope last left his post...read more

Product Description: In Italy, they call him il Papa, which means “The Father.” Until his unprecedented election, author and friend Elisabetta Piqué called him Padre Jorge. He may have changed his name to become Pope Francis, but it did not change their friendship...read more

Product Description: As leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope is the most visible spiritual leader in the world. The first non-European leader of the church in more than 1,2 years, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope in 213...read more

Product Description: After learning of the life of St. John XXIII, there is a summary of his spiritual teaching, a pilgrim prayer and suggestions for intention, itinerary, and detailed directions to the prime places to visit in his life.

Product Description: His adult life was unremarkable; in his role as Papal Nuncio to France, he was considered an “affable amateur.” When he was elected pope in 1958, it was thought he would be a placeholder, someone who was easily controllable until the Curia could decide on a worthy successor...read more

Product Description: Poet, philosopher, playwright, peacemaker, political activist, pope: this is a brief look at the rich life of Karol Wotyla, whom we know today as Pope John Paul II. He was the most widely traveled of all popes, and made pastoral visits to 129 countries in all...read more

Product Description: Before becoming Pope Francis, Fr. Jorge Bergoglio, as a Jesuit priest in Argentina, served the Jesuit order and the Church in a variety of functions: professor, spiritual director, master of novices, provincial, and eventually Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos AiresThis fascinating new look at Pope Francis presents the personal insights of ten Jesuits, many who have known him since his first days as a Jesuit, and were interviewed for this book shortly after he was elected the Pope...read more

Product Description: The Catholic Church has been undoubtedly going through a period of profound crisis. Endless scandals and conspiracies have plagued the Church in recent years, and with resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in February 2013, the Catholic community was left in dire need of direction and spiritual renewal...read more