Vatican City: A collection of personal diary notes kept by Pope Francis over more than three decades will be published on November 24, offering readers a new look at the spiritual reflections and personal thoughts of the late pope.
Titled The Private Diary of Pope Francis, the book brings together notes written by Jorge Mario Bergoglio between December 20, 1992, and August 18, 2024. The material covers more than 30 years, including the period before he became pope and most of his 12 year pontificate.
The Vatican Publishing House announced the publication on Monday. The book is being prepared by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who presents, edits and comments on the diary material.
The book will be published internationally in five languages and distributed in 94 countries. The Italian edition will be published by the Vatican Publishing House, while Penguin Random House will publish the Spanish, English and Portuguese editions. The French edition will be published by Éditions Albin Michel.
The English edition is being published by Image, an imprint of Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, in partnership with the Vatican Publishing House. It will be translated from Spanish by Sister Bernadette Reis, with Fernández serving as editor and annotator.
The publication is expected to give readers access to personal writings that were not previously available to the public. The publishers describe the diary as offering insight into Francis’s hopes, fears, struggles and prayers.
The diary begins in December 1992, when Bergoglio was serving as an auxiliary bishop in Buenos Aires. He became Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001.
He was elected pope on March 13, 2013, becoming the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit to lead the Catholic Church. He took the name Francis and served as Bishop of Rome until his death on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88.
The diary continues through August 2024, several months before his death. During this period, Francis was dealing with major issues affecting the Catholic Church and the wider world, while also facing increasing health problems in the final period of his life.
The publication therefore covers a significant part of Francis’s public ministry as well as years before his election as pope. It could provide historians, Catholics and other readers with additional material for understanding his spiritual development and the experiences that shaped his leadership.
Cardinal Fernández was a close collaborator of Francis and has continued to hold a senior position in the Vatican under Pope Leo XIV. His role in preparing the diary means that the published volume will include not only Francis’s notes but also Fernández’s presentation and commentary.
The Vatican Publishing House said the book would help readers gain a deeper understanding of Francis’s personality and inner life. Andrea Tornielli, Editorial Director of the Dicastery for Communication, said the Vatican was honoured to make the work available to readers around the world.
The publication also continues the Vatican’s recent effort to make writings connected with its popes available to an international audience. Earlier this year, the Vatican Publishing House published Free Under Grace, a collection of writings by Robert Francis Prevost from his years as Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, before he became Pope Leo XIV.
The Vatican plans to present The Private Diary of Pope Francis to international publishers at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, which runs from October 7 to 11.
Francis had already published several books during his lifetime, including The Name of God Is Mercy and his memoir Hope. The new volume is different because it is based on personal diary notes written over a long period and is being published after his death.
The book is expected to attract international interest because Francis remained one of the most influential Catholic leaders of the modern era. His papacy was marked by a strong focus on the poor, migrants, social inclusion, environmental concerns and reform within the Catholic Church.
The diary will now provide another source for understanding the man behind that public role. Its publication will also allow readers to examine Francis’s own personal reflections alongside the public record of his years as a priest, bishop and pope.