An extraordinary glimpse into the mind of Pope Francis through the personal diary he kept during his years in the Vatican, expressing his most intimate hopes and fears, struggles and prayers

What goes on in the heart and mind of a pope? Is he always confident, or is he sometimes unsure about things? Does he feel the way so many of us do when he prays, or considers death, or faces conflict?

These and countless other questions come to mind when we consider a pope as a living, breathing human being―not just an office or title or job, but a person with a name. We all know what it feels like to have titles so big that we feel small wearing them: Mom, Dad, boss, coach, caregiver. We rarely talk about how we feel under these titles, and it is all the more rare to have a glimpse of the pope grappling with the same tension.

When Pope Francis greeted friends, he would say, “It's Bergoglio!” While serving as a bishop and then eventually as the pope, he was always mindful of himself as a human being with gifts and flaws and questions and desires―just like everybody else. He held on to his identity as a mere man who was called to something far greater than himself, and in his personal diary, which he kept for more than thirty years, he stood before himself and God with searing honesty.

The result is this book, one that could not have been published while he was alive, but that we may now benefit from reading. For anyone who has wanted to understand Pope Francis, both as a spiritual leader and a fellow human being on the mysterious journey of life, his diary is a gift and essential reading.