Book Review: Pope Leo XIV by Christopher White

“The election of Pope Leo XIV signals a defining moment for the Catholic Church. As he steps onto the world stage, the new pontiff inherits the throne of St. Peter, the legacy of Pope Francis, and the challenges of a rapidly changing Church.”

Goodreads blurb for Pope Leo XIV

Review:

I wanted to love this book so much. Given how shortly after the election of Pope Leo XIV this book was published, I hadn’t expected this to be an in-depth biography. I did, however, expect it to be wholly about Cardinal Prevost/Pope Leo XIV. 

The first 40% percent of the book is about Pope Francis and highlights from his papacy. Even when it transitions to Pope Leo XIV, the focus is on speculation on how he may or may not follow in Pope Francis’ footsteps. I expected a tribute, of course, as there should be, but I would have preferred to have read about Cardinal Prevost’s background as the majority of the book. His history leading up to the start of his papacy and so forth. There were some anecdotes from his election, but those ended up feeling shoehorned in, deviating from the overall tone of the book. 

What bothered me the most was how political it was. Worse, the book only mentions politics with buzzwords and internet headlines rather than an actual discussion of political issues. This felt tasteless given Pope Leo’s call for dialogue, which had been stated several times before the publication of the book. I don’t find these books helpful in today’s political climate, especially when it comes to the Church, and it’s not something I want to read. I typically read these kinds of books when I have extended time before church and I had to put it down to recenter myself before Mass.

Needless to say, I’m extremely disappointed. The title is misleading and I think if it were, different it would reach a wider audience. I did enjoy the few moments that actually reflected on Pope Leo XIV as a person, but the rest left me feeling confused (this being predominantly a book about Pope Francis despite the title) or unsettled (the rage-bait political tidbits). I had been looking forward to reading the book that it claims to be, and what I read wasn’t it. 

Thanks to Loyola Press and NetGalley for providing a free digital ARC of the book.

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• The anecdotes about Pope Leo’s election (particularly the one with Cardinal Tagle offering him candy).

What I didn’t like:

• As I’ve said, this book was predominantly about Pope Francis. Which would have been fine if I’d known I was going to be reading a book about Pope Francis. I felt blindsided because I picked up the book wanting to learn more about the new Pope.
• The inclusion of politics, naming political figures in all parties in a way that no matter what side you’re on, someone is going to get fired up. It felt extremely inappropriate the way it was presented, because it never went beyond a comment, usually without context altogether. This felt divisive, and that’s not what I expect from a Catholic author/publisher.

Afterthoughts:

I’ve reviewed a book for Loyola Press before and I hate to give them a review under three stars. There are so few Catholic publishers on NetGalley and I hope this doesn’t hurt any future requests. I couldn’t in good conscience bump the rating when I felt so disjointed by the shattered expectation. I do encourage people to pick this up if it sounds more of their alley than mine.

Where to buy the book: