“Life: My story through History.” This is the title of Pope Francis’ “autobiography,” due to be published on March 19, 2024. A work of more than 300 pages in the paperback edition, it promises to tell the story — in the Pontiff’s own words — of his “extraordinary journey” from his childhood in Buenos Aires to the Vatican.

The book’s release has been prepared like a Hollywood production by New York publishing giant HarperCollins. Translated into six languages (French, English, Polish, German, Spanish, and Portuguese) in addition to the original Italian, this never-before-published account of the life of the first South American pope will be available first on March 19 in English, then on March 20 in all other languages.

The book thus will be released on the feast of St. Joseph, who is much beloved by the Holy Father.

Although the book is presented on some sites as an autobiography, this is in fact not the case. The Argentine Pontiff did not take up his pen, but told his story to an Italian journalist, Fabio Marchese Ragona, who was responsible for writing the book. 

Ragona, 41, has been covering the Holy See for the TGcom24 news channel since 2019. The Milan-based journalist also interviewed the Pope three times for the Canale 5 channel in 2021 and 2022.

The book he co-wrote with the Pope was translated into English by Aubrey Botsford and is published by HarperCollins. It runs to 240 pages in the hardcover edition, which can currently be preordered on the publisher’s website for $23.19.

Since the start of the pontificate, a huge number of biographical works have been produced on Pope Francis. Among the most famous are those written by journalists very close to the Pope, such as Argentina’s Elisabetta Pique (in 2014) and England’s Austen Ivereigh (in 2015).

Read more:Andrea Tornielli on what it’s like to be the Pope’s “voice”

Read more:Is the pope’s grandmother at the heart of ‘Amoris Laetitia’?