Andrea Tornielli, the foremost "Vatican Insider" journalist, offers inspiring stories, incidents, encounters, and excerpts from the writings and talks of Pope Francis through his first year as Pope.
These "little flowers" add up to a powerful witness by Pope Francis of "heartwarming stories of the Gospel in action", and they refl ect on various spiritual and social themes important to the Pope: mercy, forgiveness, charity, prayer, justice, the Eucharist, Our Lady, and much more. The title echoes the Little Flowers of Saint Francis, the famous collection of stories about the beloved Francis of Assisi, whose name the Pope adopted for himself.
The Pope's little gestures and big ones, the minor or major choices he has made each day, his ability to meet everyone and to speak to everyone, his simple way of being himself— these things have made Francis not only credible but, above all, close. The Pope is perceived by many, many people throughout the world as "one of us". Seeing him embrace the sick, the suffering, and the children, one understands why this is so.
Fioretti offers a wonderful collection of insightful fragments from various aspects of the life of the Pope in his first year that will help the reader become better acquainted with the immensely popular Bishop of Rome who, as the first South American pope, came "from the end of the earth".
"Pope Francis is a man with an extraordinary eye for beauty hidden in the ordinary; for seeing the smile of God in the simple, the practical, and the everyday course of human affairs. Andrea Tornielli has created a wonderful little volume that captures this Pope's heart and thinking perfectly."
- Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia
