Growing up in a multicultural neighbourhood in the 1940s, the boy who would become Pope witnessed drugs, prostitutes... and devout joy

I have arrived this far, taken these actions, removed these people, now it’s your turn,” said Benedict XVI, when handing the box over to the current Pope, Francis.

Pope Francis' autobiography is being released Tuesday. In it, an introspective pope divulges some of the behind-the-scenes dynamics of the secret 2013 conclave that elected him pope and the resistance he has encountered ever since.

In a Sunday television interview, Pope Francis emphasized that hope and forgiveness are at the root of the 2025 Jubilee.

The book, which was six years in the making, vividly recreates Francis’ childhood in Buenos Aires but offers few new insights into his papacy.

One of Francis’ lasting reforms will be his reshaping of the papacy to embrace simplicity and humility. In his new autobiography, “Hope,” he shows remarkable openness about his own failings.

"Each time a pope takes ill, the winds of a conclave always feel as if they are blowing," Francis writes in his new memoir, referring to centuries-old tradition of cardinals gathering in the pope's official residence, the Sistine Chapel, after a pontiff's death to elect the next.

In Pope Francis' autobiography Hope he reiterates themes of his papacy like hatred of war and unchecked capitalism, and a desire for the Catholic Church to be seen as a field hospital, not a fortress.

Someone in the queue behind him said “let’s hope he accepts”, but he was, it seems, deaf to all the signs he was in the running. An archbishop asked him, would he accept? “No cardinal can say no”, he said.

Pope Francis was named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction Saturday by President Biden, a White House press release said.

Pope Francis has released is autobiography "Hope". The book shares anecdotes from his life alongside his thoughts on the most trying issues of the era. View on euronews

Hope,” the autobiography of Pope Francis, hit the shelves of Italian bookstores Tuesday and will be on sale starting Jan. 16 in more than 100 countries.