A down-to-earth and deeply intimate portrait of Pope Francis and his faith, based on interviews with the men and women who knew him simply as Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Mark K. Shriver is president of Save the Children Action Network in Washington, D.C. Shriver created the Choice Program and is a former Maryland state legislator. His New York Times and Washington Post bestselling memoir, A Good Man- Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver, was published in June 2012 and received a 2013 Christopher Award. Shriver lives with his wife, Jeanne, and their three children, Molly, Tommy and Emma, in Maryland.
“Well-researched . . . Pilgrimage shines a light on [Pope
Francis’s] unexplored aspects. . . . A very timely and important
addition to the literature on the life and person and thinking of
Pope Francis. Everybody interested in Pope Francis will enjoy
reading this biography.”—The Washington BookReview
“Apt to stir the soul of readers . . . While this is a rich telling
of Bergoglio’s life and ascension to the papacy, it is more
movingly a spiritual memoir that draws us deep into a knowing of
this at once humble and soul-stirring rekindler of faith.”—Chicago
Tribune
“A fascinating portrait of a man and a nourishing account of
spiritual yearning.”—Booklist
“This book will especially appeal to those who want to learn more
about Francis’s origins. . . . While many good books have been
written about Pope Francis . . . Shriver’s conversations with many
of the people who knew Jorge Bergoglio in Argentina and were
willing to relate personal details about their relationship with
him set this book apart.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“This fast-paced and fascinating tale takes us on Jorge Mario
Bergoglio’s pilgrimage from his grandmother’s knee in the
Italian-Argentine community, through years of success and sorrow in
the tumultuous country that he loved, to his surprise election as
Pope Francis. Mark K. Shriver finds himself on his own pilgrimage
as he comes to understand the role of the Society of Jesus—the
Jesuits—in shaping the charismatic pontiff. Then, with smart
subtlety, Shriver shows how the fundamental fact of faith makes
pilgrims of us all.”—Cokie Roberts, New York Times bestselling
author of Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington,
1848–1868
“Pilgrimage provides a new and important perspective on Pope
Francis, garnered from extensive interviews with the people who
have been closest to the Holy Father throughout the course of his
life. All people of good faith, including those whose lives are not
guided by religious beliefs, will be inspired and enlightened by
the compelling manner in which Pilgrimage brings us closer to the
heart and mind of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis. I highly
recommend this book; it will make a difference in your
life.”—Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap.
“One American’s quest to grasp the essence of what makes Pope
Francis tick becomes a compelling journey into new depths within
the author’s soul. In Argentina, Shriver meets all the right
people, and as they open up to him, Francis gradually shifts into
focus. Funny, wise, insightful, and skillfully penned, Pilgrimage
deserves to be ranked among the best books on the greatest leader
of our age. I really enjoyed it.”—Austen Ivereigh, author of The
Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope
“This is a book for the man in the street who wants to know, ‘Who
is this pope? Where did he come from?’ And who wants to learn this
not from a theologian writing for other theologians, but in
everyday language from an everyday point of view. Moved by his own
burning curiosity, Mark K. Shriver travels to Argentina, Rome,
and elsewhere to talk with the pope’s family, former students,
parishioners, and longtime associates. This book lets you travel
with him.”—Michael Novak, author of The Open Church and Writing
from Left to Right
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