Current:Home > reviewsPope Francis opens up about personal life, health in new memoir -Blueprint Wealth Network
Pope Francis opens up about personal life, health in new memoir
View
Date:2025-04-27 12:24:31
Pope Francis is known for his words spoken from the pulpit, where he makes urgent calls for peace and advocates for migrants and to protect the environment, but a new memoir is revealing another side of the pontiff.
The new book, "Life: My Story Through History" chronicles the 87-year-old's life through major historic events, such as his joy at the end of World War II and cheering the fall of the Berlin Wall. But he also delves into the more intimate, like when he was briefly "dazzled" by a woman so much that it became "difficult to pray."
Co-author Fabio Marchese Ragona got a close look at the personal side of Pope Francis through hours of interviews and revisions.
He told CBS News the memoir was his idea.
"I said that there are many people in the world that don't know him, especially in America, in the states," Ragona said, noting the U.S. was a particular focus because "It's a great country."
Conservative Catholics in the U.S. are among this pope's most vocal critics.
Father Sam Sawyer, a Jesuit like Pope Francis and the editor of the Catholic magazine America, told CBS News he thinks the portion of the book dealing with Pope Benedict XVI and his resignation will get a fair amount of attention.
But Ragona said that, despite Benedict's resignation and Francis' own health concerns, the pope only thinks about resignation because journalists ask about it.
"In the book, we talk about the resignation," Ragona said. "He said, 'I am good right now, I don't think resignation.'"
Francis writes in the book that during hospital stays and medical treatments, he knows others speculate about the next conclave and a new pope.
"Relax. It's human. There's nothing shocking about it," he writes.
Seth DoaneSeth Doane is an award winning CBS News correspondent based in Rome.
veryGood! (241)
Related
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- D-backs’ Zac Gallen loses World Series no-hit bid on Corey Seager’s leadoff single in 7th inning
- 5 Things podcast: Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza refugee camp, Abortion on the ballot
- Asia’s first Gay Games to kick off in Hong Kong, fostering hopes for wider LGBTQ+ inclusion
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Kendall Jenner's Wonder Woman Halloween Costume Gets the Ultimate Stamp of Approval From Lynda Carter
- Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin dunks on Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher as only Kiffin can
- Inspiration or impersonation? 'Booty Patrol' truck is too close to CBP, cops say. Florida scoffs.
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Some Republicans still press for changes to further protect Georgia voting system amid criticism
Ranking
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Touring at 80? Tell-all memoirs? New Kids on the Block are taking it step-by-step
- Touring at 80? Tell-all memoirs? New Kids on the Block are taking it step-by-step
- Bracy, Hatcher first Democrats to announce bids for revamped congressional district in Alabama
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Antitrust in America, from Standard Oil to Bork (classic)
- Raiders fire coach Josh McDaniels, GM Dave Ziegler after 'Monday Night Football' meltdown
- Amy Robach, T.J. Holmes go 'Instagram official' after cheating scandal with joint podcast
Recommendation
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Supreme Court seems ready to deny trademark for 'Trump Too Small' T-shirts
Trooper accused of withholding body-camera video agrees to testify in deadly arrest of Black driver
Trooper accused of withholding body-camera video agrees to testify in deadly arrest of Black driver
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
Watch Long Island Medium’s Theresa Caputo Bring Drew Barrymore Audience Member to Tears
Corey Seager earns second World Series MVP, joining Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake has shaken the Timor region of Indonesia