The first full-length book by Pope Leo XIV to come out in the U.S. will be published next year.
HarperOne said Wednesday that it acquired world rights to Peace Be with You! My Words to the Church and to the World, scheduled for release on Feb. 26.
The book includes sermons and addresses he has given since his election in May. HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, is calling the book “a vision for peace, unity, and reconciliation in a fractured world.”
The title refers to Leo's first public remarks as pope, when he appeared in May on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world,” he said. “Peace be with you!”
HarperOne has previously released works by Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis among others.
The book announcement comes after Pope Leo shared for the first time what he was thinking when the votes started going his way during the conclave that elected him, saying he resigned himself to the inevitable and put the rest in God’s hands.
“I took a deep breath. I said ‘Here we go Lord. You’re in charge and you lead the way,’” Leo told reporters Tuesday during a wide-ranging airborne press conference coming home from his inaugural trip to Turkey and Lebanon.
Leo fielded questions for a half-hour, responding easily in English, Spanish and Italian about a variety of church and international news. He hinted at behind-the-scenes discussions about Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, urged dialogue rather than U.S. military threats on Venezuela and discussed his hoped-for future travels in Africa and South America, among other topics.
He also revealed which books will help the public understand his spirituality. Beyond St. Augustine, the fifth-century theologian who inspired his religious order and is Leo’s most-frequently cited church father, Leo recommended a book The Practice of the Presence of God by a 17th-century Carmelite friar, Brother Lawrence.
“It describes, if you will, a type of prayer and spirituality where one simply gives his life to the Lord and allows the Lord to lead. If you want to know something about me, that’s been my spirituality for many years,” he said.
