Pope Francis: Catholic Spiritual Leader

Pope Francis “is a new pope in many ways. His kindness and simplicity have attracted the attention of the world.” Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was elected as pope on March 13, 2013. This engaging volume looks at his impressive life, from his childhood and early religious career to his accomplishments today. The first pope in over a thousand years who is not from Europe, Pope Francis has broken with papal tradition by opting for modest housing, clothing, and transportation. (He’s also the first pope to use Twitter and pose for selfies!) The pope—who is recognized for his dedication to helping the poor—became the leader of the Catholic Church at a time of “difficult problems,” and with advisors, is dealing with challenges including finance and child abuse scandals. Frequent sidebars offer additional information about topics such as the Jesuits, the Vatican, and papal history. Some chapter-ending text boxes ask reading comprehension questions and provide research prompts, while others present primary-source excerpts, followed by writing prompts. Captioned color photographs show Pope Francis before and after he became pope, his living quarters, and Buenos Aires. A map of Vatican City and a chart of the home countries of past popes also appear. Back matter consists of a time line, writing prompts, glossary, additional resources, a link to publisher-selected Web sites, and an index.