Autobiography “Hope”: Assassinations, football and tango: Pope Francis remembers

Actually, Pope Francis’ new autobiography should not have been published until after his death. But – as happened so often during his term as head of the Catholic Church – Francis threw this plan overboard. On the occasion of the Holy Year 2025, he wanted to publish his memories now. The 88-year-old’s memoirs will be published this Tuesday under the title “Hoffe. The Autobiography”.

It is not uncommon for the Argentine to cause offense with his political statements in public appearances both outside and inside the church. The pontiff is particularly criticized for his statements about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. He is accused of not expressing a balanced opinion about the aggressors and those attacked in the respective wars. In his book, Francis explains what makes him tick politically – but also personally – and what has shaped him over the course of his life.

Political and a lot of personal stuff in 25 chapters

The new autobiography and its 384 pages and 25 chapters should be seen as a record of his political legacy – the focus is on global political issues such as war and peace, migration, racism, social inequality and climate change. But at the same time he tells his personal life story using private and intimate anecdotes.

There are, for example, the memories of his childhood and youth in Argentina: the strong love for his grandmother Rosa, the close family life at home, playing with friends on the streets of Buenos Aires or falling in love for the first time with a girl he met as a boy. He also talks about his passion for international cinema, music and Argentine tango, which the Pope still listens to today.

We also learn that Jorge Bergoglio, the Pope’s real name, was an enthusiastic, but not gifted, footballer as a child. “Playing makes you happy even if you have two left feet.” He also talks about his loyalty to the football club of his youth, the Club San Lorenzo de Almagro, whose team he welcomed to the Vatican in 2014.

The book also contains several previously unpublished photos from the Pope’s private archive: children’s photos with his grandparents, parents and siblings, memories from his time as a young priest, a ride on the Buenos Aires subway as archbishop or pictures of Pope trips.

Two assassination attempts in Iraq

Despite all the shallow anecdotes, Francis repeatedly comes up with serious topics. For the first time, he reports on two attempted attacks on him during his trip to Iraq in 2021, which was marked by war and destruction. However, both assassination plans were thwarted.

He visited the city of Mosul, once considered a center of the Islamic State. Despite major safety concerns, he began the journey. “But I really wanted to go on this trip. I felt that I had to do it,” writes Francis. Iraq and its church had been waiting a long time for his visit.

Clear words for wars and conflicts

Francis also does not let go of the theme of war and peace in his memoirs. His grandfather described the horrors of war to him. Even today, the war is once again spreading terror around the world. “Wars only bring misery and hardship, weapons bring nothing but death. War is always stupid,” he writes. It is particularly reminiscent of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The pontiff finds clear words in particular for Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip after the attack by Hamas and allied terrorists on the south of the country on October 7, 2023. He criticizes the world’s alleged indifference to the suffering of the people: “In view of the shameful incompetence of the international Community and the most powerful states to end this slaughter, the wave of hate has turned into an oceanic tide of violence.”

“And I just keep going”

Francis once again rejects speculation about an imminent resignation. Francis has been in poor health for some time. Because of a knee problem, he is dependent on a wheelchair. Two years ago he had to be hospitalized twice in hospital – first for pneumonia and then for open abdominal surgery.

“Whenever a pope is feeling bad, a whiff of conclave blows through the world,” explains Francis. However, he “never once” thought about giving up in such moments. Francis only sees the need to resign in the event of serious medical problems. In this case, he has already submitted a letter with a declaration of resignation.

Francis emphasizes: “The truth is that the Lord is the clock of life. And I just keep going.” The church still has many tasks to complete in order to be prepared for the future. He defends his attempts at reform in this way, such as the blessing of homosexual couples. In the history and future of the Catholic Church it is still only “a single step”.