Papal biographer unimpressed with papal autobiography

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Jan 17, 2025

The irrepressible Austen Ivereigh has written:

  • one laudatory book about Pope Francis, which he wrote himself;
  • one book about Pope Francis that he wrote with the help of Pope Francis;
  • one book about the spirituality of Pope Francis, with a foreword by Pope Francis; and
  • innumerable social-media posts praising Pope Francis and denouncing the Pontiff’s critics.

Not surprisingly, then, Austen Ivereigh has mixed feelings (at best) about the Pope’s new autobiography, which he explains in a review for The Tablet. For one thing, he observes, “Hope isn’t an autobiography.”

”I’m good with anything that repackages Francis—the great spiritual authority of our times—for new audiences,” Ivereigh writes—thereby reinforcing his credentials as the Pope’s foremost journalistic supporter. But his unquestioned status in that role raises a question: Why wasn’t Ivereigh chosen to assist the Pope on this book? The question has obviously occurred to the Tablet reviewer, who cannot resist listing complaints about various inaccuracies in the text. He concludes that list by saying:

It amazes me that Penguin Random House could not have found a translator and editor familiar with the papacy and Catholicism, or at least the nous and humility to ask one who was (yes, I was available) to check it over.

But the most serious problem with Hope, the review tells us, is not the absence of Ivereigh’s editorial touch. The problem—which many other reviewers have mentioned—is the absence of detail about the life of Pope Francis since he assumed Peter’s Throne. Ivereigh writes:

After he enters the seminary aged 21 his life story is no longer narrated, and Hope becomes, like Life [a biography published last year, which Ivereigh dismisses as not really a biography], a series of reflections on contemporary issues, with the odd anecdote from the past thrown in.

If you are interested in the Pope’s childhood and the early years of his formation, Hope offers plenty of information, in winsome narrative, Ivereigh reports. But the wealth of detail peters out, and the narration becomes less organized, as the future Pontiff moves up the hierarchical ladder. As for the years of his pontificate, the book offers one more collection of the Pope’s thoughts and memories, which by now have been published in many different places.

In short, if you are looking for a book about the childhood of Jorge Bergoglio, Hope may give satisfaction. But if you want a biography of the Pope as Pope, keep waiting.

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

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  • Posted by: grateful1 - Jan. 18, 2025 11:04 AM ET USA

    All this tells me that Ivereigh is as hubristic as Francis.