Book Review: Francis Man of Prayer

Francis: Man of Prayer by Mario Escobar

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


FTC disclosure:  I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Who is Pope Francis?  Prior to March, many in the world had never heard of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, or if they had, it was only in passing, and now he’s an extremely influential leader.  Even more interesting, how did a man of religious orders, especially a   Jesuit become pope?  Elected pontiff from Latin America, he’s the first in that as well as well as the first Pope Francis.  How did he decide on the name of Francis?   This book answers these questions and more.

The first part of the book is about the man himself.  Did you know he asked a girl to marry him and told her if she didn’t he would become a priest?  Her decision not to accept his proposal changed the course of his life -- and history.  A humble man, asking for prayers of the people upon being introduced as the leader of the Catholic Church, this book takes a look at his life and ministry.

The second part of this book gives a background on where the Catholic Church is in terms of change.  Is this a major transition for the Church?  How so?  One can only speculate, but author Mario Escobar gives his opinions of what may be in store as well as another theory behind Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation. 

This was an interesting book as I’m fascinated with Pope Francis from the few stories I’ve heard in the media about his humble and frugal ways.  He seems to put people first, and I wanted to read more antidotes about him, but unfortunately this book was more factual instead of the things I’ve read in the media about the man you would love to know and see as you are out grocery shopping.  While I understand giving the background of where the Catholic Church is currently is an important part of grasping the WHYs of a Latin America pope, as well as one from the Jesuits, I would have preferred a book with more about the man Pope Francis is.   I realize that this book is one that had to be put together quickly to already be on the market, yet I was still hoping for a little more than this book delivered.  It has given me a good background on this leader from Argentina, and I look forward to reading more about him. 

If you are looking for a good overview, I recommend this book.  If you want to learn more about Pope Francis and his interactions with others with fascinating stories, look elsewhere.  Still, it was a good book, and I’m glad I read it. 

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