There are times when everything seems difficult. And when everyone feels more alone. A world and a life uphill. Then, suddenly, Pope Francis. “Brothers and sisters, good evening. You know that the duty of the conclave is to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother cardinals went to pick him almost to the end of the world. But we are here…". It 's the good taste of the questions and true things of life that comes back. It’s a great sympathy for the world and our time. “The poor, the poor. Then, immediately, in relation to the poor I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then, I thought about wars... well, the name came, in my heart: Francis of Assisi... Ah, how I wish a poor Church and for the poor!>.

This book is a journey through the thought of Pope Francis, through writings and speeches by Card. Bergoglio from 2000 until the eve of the 2013 conclave that elected him. These are texts, introduced by Andrea Riccardi, reporting his teachings and his speaking style, which is direct, paternal, loving and deep.

The important questions for each of us, the concerns and the responses of faith, accompanied by Pope Francis: our frailty, how to live with joy; hope, which must not be allowed to be stolen, poverty and the concrete poor, of whom not to be afraid; tenderness, a key to humanize our world and our lives, and the mercy and the invitation to come out of ourselves; prayer even when you do not have words, the love for the elderly and children, without the decency to love and to be loved, the mystery of suffering and forgiveness that never ends; existential peripheries of our time where we understand the life centre better. And, again, a strong message: it is possible to change.

A book that allows to enter the spiritual and human horizon of Pope Francis and to make a personal companionship. A book that makes the heart rest because it speaks to life with the wisdom of the Gospel. A Pope as a Friend.

Introduction of Andrea Riccardi