Pray for Me:
The Life and Spiritual Vision of Pope Francis,
First Pope from the Americas
Robert Moynihan
Image Books 2013
On February 11, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI made an announcement which shocked the world, stating that on February 28th, he would resign as Pope. On March 12, 2013, a conclave began, where the cardinals of the Catholic Church gathered to elect a new Pope, and on March 13, 2013, they reached their decision. Although a shock to many of us following the Papal Election, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, at the time the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, was a well-loved Cardinal within the College of Cardinals, and was elected fairly quickly. This book, written by Robert Moynihan, the editor and founder of Inside the Vatican Magazine, is a book about who Cardinal Bergoglio is and what he did in his first few days as Pope.
This book was fascinating to me for the insight that it gives to what happened in those first few days. In the way that only a high-ranking member of the Media like Moynihan, who was able to speak to many people and be very close to the Pope on many occasions, could do, he gives a very detailed report of the first days as the new Pope. From the things we heard a lot about, like going to St. Mary Major to pray in front of Mary, paying his own bill at the hotel he had been at, and the choice of clothes, to some of the smaller things like the car he drove and individuals whom he had close to him, Moynihan gives as many details as one could want about the first days of the new Pope.
Most interesting to me, I think, about this book, is the backstory of Pope Francis and the extensive selection of quotes that Moynihan provides from Pope Francis before he became Pope. We learn about the influence of his grandmother on his prayer life, the formation Francis received from the nuns who taught at his elementary school, and the close-knit relationship he still has with his sister. We learn the backstory to the allegations of his failure to properly help priests who were persecuted in Argentina during the military dictatorship there in the 1970s, and we learn over and over again about his great devotion and love for the Blessed Mother, specifically as "Untier of Knots." Finally, in the last 40 or so pages of the book, we learn Bergoglio's thoughts on just about every topic in his own words, as there are pages of quotes.
The only negative to me of this book was the interpretation of his actions, as I think that every person might interpret some of Francis' actions differently. While Moynihan didn't say anything controversial or that I would say was wrong, there were times when I felt he spent too much time interpreting what the Pope was doing instead of simply presenting it. Even with this, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and enjoyed learning more and more about Pope Francis and his early days as Pope as well as the life that made him the man that he is. I think that Moynihan does a superb job of compiling as much information about this man as anyone could desire to learn, and he gives it to us in a way that is supremely readable.
Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, or, as many people in Buenos Aires knew him, Fr. Jorge, is a man who wants to reach out to the people and present to them the person of Jesus. We see in him a great Pastoral nature, a great love for the poor, and a warmth typical, you might say, of a loving grandfather; the root of it all, he tells us, is the love and mercy of Jesus. "The privileged locus of the encounter with the Lord," he says, "is the caress of the mercy of Jesus Christ on my sin." For Bergoglio, as Moynihan wonderfully presents in this book, the Christian life is all about letting the mercy and love of Jesus Christ embrace us in our most sinful state, and letting His love be enough for us. With this man as the Vicar of Christ, we are in good hands on earth, since he is all about letting Jesus love him and showing that love to others. This book is a wonderful resource in learning who Pope Francis is, what he is all about, and in learning how to hear and to let him lead us. I strongly recommend this book!
If you want more information about this book, you can get it at the Image Books website by visiting this link: Pray for Me, and you can learn more about the author by visiting his profile page on Image Books website at this link: Robert Moynihan. I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review."
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