The Mind of Pope Francis: Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Intellectual Journey - Hardcover

"Massimo Borghesi's book is the first real intellectual biography of Jorge Mario Bergoglio and it builds a bridge between the different universes of today's global Catholicism: different generations of Catholics; different areas of the world; different theological, philosophical, and socio-political backgrounds. This book is an invaluable contribution for the comprehension of this pontificate and potentially a game-changer for the reception of Pope Francis, especially in the English-speaking world."Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology, Villanova University

"Pope Francis' predecessor was an internationally renowned theologian. Perhaps because of that, many have dismissed the Argentinian pope as lacking in intellectual `heft.' Massimo Borghesi's fascinating and informative study of the intellectual influences on Pope Francis has exploded that canard, demonstrating the intellectual breadth, subtlety and perspicacity of Francis' thought. Borghesi helps us see that behind Pope Francis' famous `evangelical simplicity' lies `a rich and original thought process, ' one informed by such thinkers as Amelia Podetti, Alberto Methol Ferre, and Romano Guardini. Thanks to Borghesi we can better appreciate the subtle and creative mind of this `simple' pope."Richard Gaillardetz, Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology, Boston College

"An indispensable study of how Jorge Bergoglio became the strikingly original thinker and believer who has renewed the Church in his ministry as Pope Francis."Mollie Wilson O'Reilly, Editor at Large, Commonweal

"Any Catholic thinker, priest, or seminarian who wants to grasp the intricacies of the intellectual formation of Pope Francis has to read this book. Even the best biographies have up to now been unable to recount the true influence of Gaston Fessard, Amelia Podetti, and Alberto Methol Ferré. This book was hard to put down. The interplay of the modern dialectic and classical analogy under the rubric of Jesuit polarity is itself worthy of a small monograph. The record is now corrected. Friends and foes can learn for the first time the multiple and diverse strands of Latin American, Ignatian, and European thought that the inquisitive Bergoglio brought from the Southern Cone of his native hemisphere to the chair of St. Peter."Peter Casarella, University of Notre Dame

"If Massimo Borghesi's book, The Mind of Pope Francis, had been published earlier in the pontificate it could have helped prevent the surprisingly easy adoption of a superficial narrative depicting the new pope as an intellectual lightweight set on undoing much of what his predecessors had accomplished. An important and unique contribution to the books that have been written about him." Cindy Wooden, Chief of Rome Bureau, Catholic News Service

"The English edition of Borghesi's work goes beyond previous books about Pope Francis, not only by including material from private interviews with the Holy Father, but also by opening to English-speakers the thinking of men and women like Alberto Methol Ferré and Amelia Podetti, philosophers from Latin America, who deeply influenced Pope Francis and his ideas about the holy, faithful, People of God and about listening to those at the peripheries. The work of Borghesi is a wonderful contribution to understanding the thinking and person of Pope Francis and to receiving and implementing his magisterium at a time of change in the Church and the world. It is my sincere hope that bishops, priests, seminary professors, lay theologians and leaders will profit greatly from this text as they carry out the important work of the New Evangelization."Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States

"Far from being just a set of ideas and influences, what Professor Borghesi's magnificent study shows is a way of thinking, one that navigates and reconciles this world's polarities and dialectic tensions in a compellingly original way. If ever a mind reflected the Incarnation, it is Jorge Mario Bergoglio's; and no one is better equipped to take us on a tour of that mind than Borghesi in this masterful translation. There is no more important or illuminating book on Pope Francis. We will never see him the same way again."Austen Ivereigh, Author of The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope

"Massimo Borghesi has provided an indispensable resource for all who want to understand why Pope Francis thinks the way he does. Both erudite and scholarly, A Mind of Pope Francis reveals the intellectual and cultural formation of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, with the added benefit of recently recorded and highly reflective interviews with the subject himself. Beautifully translated, this is a vital addition to the anthology of books on this most captivating and consequential religious leader."Kerry Alys Robinson, Global Ambassador, Leadership Roundtable