Pope Francis' Private Diaries to Be Published This Fall
The collection will offer a personal glimpse into the pontiff's thoughts, prayers, and struggles from 1992 until shortly before his death.
Pope Francis' private journal entries, spanning from before his papacy to August 2024, are set to be published this fall. The collection, titled “The Private Diary of Pope Francis,” will be released in English and four other languages on November 24, according to a Monday announcement by Image, an imprint of Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group.
Image is publishing the book in partnership with Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV), the Vatican Publishing House. The book is expected to provide an “extraordinary glimpse” into the late pontiff's "hopes and fears, struggles and prayers." The writings begin in December 1992 and conclude in August 2024, approximately eight months before his death on April 21, 2025. He was 88.
The English-language edition was translated from the original Spanish by Sister Bernadette Reis and edited and annotated by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, who leads the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, Pope Francis was the first Latin American pope. He was known for his accessible style and emphasis on humility. During the coronavirus pandemic, he urged global unity, stating from an empty St. Peter's Square that "all of us to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other."
Throughout his pontificate, Francis occasionally courted controversy. He faced criticism from conservatives for his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and for his remarks regarding accusations against Chilean Bishop Juan Barros. In 2016, he commented on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, stating that anyone building a wall to keep migrants out “is not Christian.”
Before his death, Pope Francis authored several books, including “The Name of God Is Mercy” and the memoir “Hope.”