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Who Was . . . ? Series
Who Was Pope Francis?
Follow the amazing journey of Pope Francis, whose warmth and humility have made him beloved around the world.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis, from Argentina, is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. Since being elected pope he has shown a humbler, less formal approach to his office than his predecessors: a warm style that has been referred to as "no frills." His common touch and accessibility, as well as his insistence that the church be more open and welcoming, has quickly endeared him not only to Roman Catholics but to millions of others around the world.
This title in the New York Times best-selling series includes eighty illustrations that help bring Pope Francis's amazing story to life.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis, from Argentina, is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. Since being elected pope he has shown a humbler, less formal approach to his office than his predecessors: a warm style that has been referred to as "no frills." His common touch and accessibility, as well as his insistence that the church be more open and welcoming, has quickly endeared him not only to Roman Catholics but to millions of others around the world.
This title in the New York Times best-selling series includes eighty illustrations that help bring Pope Francis's amazing story to life.
112 pages, Paperback
Published August 8, 2017
52 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Spinner
54 books33 followersI was born in Davenport, Iowa, and grew up in Rockaway Beach, New York. I read straight through my childhood, with breaks for food, sleep, and the bathroom. I went to college in Bennington, Vermont, moved to New York City, and took a job in publishing so I could get paid for reading. I read so much bad fiction that I needed a break, so I moved to London, and from there I traveled to Morocco, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan India, Nepal, and Ceylon. I came back to America, wandered around some more -- to Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize -- and on returning to New York decided to study Tibetan Buddhist painting (called thangka painting) in Boulder, Colorado.
I painted thangkas for many years. Each one took anywhere from several weeks to a few months to complete, and at long last I understood that this was not the ideal way for me to make a living. Only a few hundred Americans collected thangkas, and they wanted old ones, painted by Tibetan monks. It was time to make a change.
So I took another publishing job, this time in children’s books. I found that I liked children’s books a lot, and before long, I became an editor.
Years passed. I was encouraged to write. I scoffed at the idea that I had anything to write about. I edited some wonderfully talented authors -- Virginia Hamilton, Philip Isaacson, Clyde Robert Bulla, Gloria Whelan, Robin McKinley, Joan Vinge, Garth Nix, and Chris Lynch, among others -- with great enjoyment. Writing seemed like torture by comparison.
Then, to my amazement, I found myself writing a book and having a good time -- simultaneously! The book was ALIENS FOR BREAKFAST, and I enjoyed writing it because my co-author was Jonathan Etra. Jon (who died of heart disease in 1990) was a close friend with a wild sense of humor, and collaborating with him changed my opinion of writing forever. After ALIENS FOR BREAKFAST, and ALIENS FOR LUNCH, which we also co-wrote, I began to think that writing could be interesting fun.
And now that I’ve been doing it full-time for more than ten years, I can tell you why I like it better than a job. First, I can work in my bathrobe. (To the FedEx man and the UPS man, I am "the woman in the plaid flannel robe.") Second, I can eat when I’m hungry, choose when to take phone calls, and walk my dogs any time. Third, the only meetings I have -- and they’re short -- are with the dry cleaner and the post office ladies. Fourth, I can read whatever I please. I may tell people I’m doing research when I read about horse-trekking, or hunting in ancient Greece, or 16 ways to better compost, but the truth is, I’m not doing research, I’m having a good time. Which I think is still allowed.
I painted thangkas for many years. Each one took anywhere from several weeks to a few months to complete, and at long last I understood that this was not the ideal way for me to make a living. Only a few hundred Americans collected thangkas, and they wanted old ones, painted by Tibetan monks. It was time to make a change.
So I took another publishing job, this time in children’s books. I found that I liked children’s books a lot, and before long, I became an editor.
Years passed. I was encouraged to write. I scoffed at the idea that I had anything to write about. I edited some wonderfully talented authors -- Virginia Hamilton, Philip Isaacson, Clyde Robert Bulla, Gloria Whelan, Robin McKinley, Joan Vinge, Garth Nix, and Chris Lynch, among others -- with great enjoyment. Writing seemed like torture by comparison.
Then, to my amazement, I found myself writing a book and having a good time -- simultaneously! The book was ALIENS FOR BREAKFAST, and I enjoyed writing it because my co-author was Jonathan Etra. Jon (who died of heart disease in 1990) was a close friend with a wild sense of humor, and collaborating with him changed my opinion of writing forever. After ALIENS FOR BREAKFAST, and ALIENS FOR LUNCH, which we also co-wrote, I began to think that writing could be interesting fun.
And now that I’ve been doing it full-time for more than ten years, I can tell you why I like it better than a job. First, I can work in my bathrobe. (To the FedEx man and the UPS man, I am "the woman in the plaid flannel robe.") Second, I can eat when I’m hungry, choose when to take phone calls, and walk my dogs any time. Third, the only meetings I have -- and they’re short -- are with the dry cleaner and the post office ladies. Fourth, I can read whatever I please. I may tell people I’m doing research when I read about horse-trekking, or hunting in ancient Greece, or 16 ways to better compost, but the truth is, I’m not doing research, I’m having a good time. Which I think is still allowed.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 3, 2025
Who Was…? biography series for middle grade inspires with the story of Pope Francis – a man who became the first pope from South America.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio (1936-2025) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian family. He was the oldest of five children. His grandmother took care of him during the day. She taught him about the Catholic saints, prayed with him, and took him to church. She also taught him to be open-minded, and accept all people of different faiths; and instilled the love for books in him.
In 1956, he enrolled at a seminary in Buenos Aires. In 1961, he continued his studies at Jesuit school in Santiago, Chile. When he taught religion to third- and fourth- grade children, he saw poverty of hungry children, some wearing rags, no shoes. His heart went out to them.
Upon returning to Buenos Aires in 1963, he taught at the best Catholic High Schools.
In 1973, he took his final vows. Soon after, he was made a Jesuit provincial superior of Argentina and Uruguay. He worked hard to help the poor. He opened new churches. But he made a lot of decisions on his own without listening to others. That had its consequences after the Dirty War 1974-1983. During the military dictatorship called the junta, he ordered the Jesuit priests to stay quiet. It was brought up after the Dirty War in 1983, and later in 2013 when he became pope. He admitted that he made mistakes and regretted them.
The priests, who disliked his actions, stopped his rise. Instead, he was sent to Cordoba where he needed permission for anything he wanted to do. It was a harsh punishment for him, to go from giving orders and making decisions on his own. Now, he was serving poor people of Cordoba.
In 1992, his punishment ended and he was appointed to help the archbishop of Buenos Aires run all the Catholic churches in the city. After many years of humble work and soul-searching, he had changed. Now, he listened to others before making decisions. And he focused even more on helping the poor.
When he became archbishop in 1998, he didn’t wear silk robes or used any luxuries. He remained in simple robes, lived in a small apartment, and used public transportation.
Now, he wasn’t afraid to speak up publicly against the government. His courage impressed many people, including the pope, at the time, John Paul II, who made Jorge a cardinal in 2001.
With his continuous work, he proved to be a strong leader who chose to lead humble life despite his titles and luxuries they offered.
On March 13, 2013, Jorge became the new pope taking the name of Francis, honoring St. Francis of Assisi who was known for helping the poor.
One of the first things he did, he got in touch with the US and Cuban presidents, and offered to be their go-between. So the two countries could bridge their differences.
He continued to be outspoken in regards to the poor. He said, “I want a Church that is poor and for the poor.”
This biography illustrates a man who found his calling as a teenager and followed through despite his parents wanting him to take a different vocation. He was smart and empathetic toward poor, always wanting to help them, but along his rise he made some decisions that made others question his actions. His descent gave him time to reflect on his decisions. After soul-searching, he had risen again to the very top by becoming a pope, and continuously serving those in needs.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio (1936-2025) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian family. He was the oldest of five children. His grandmother took care of him during the day. She taught him about the Catholic saints, prayed with him, and took him to church. She also taught him to be open-minded, and accept all people of different faiths; and instilled the love for books in him.
In 1956, he enrolled at a seminary in Buenos Aires. In 1961, he continued his studies at Jesuit school in Santiago, Chile. When he taught religion to third- and fourth- grade children, he saw poverty of hungry children, some wearing rags, no shoes. His heart went out to them.
Upon returning to Buenos Aires in 1963, he taught at the best Catholic High Schools.
In 1973, he took his final vows. Soon after, he was made a Jesuit provincial superior of Argentina and Uruguay. He worked hard to help the poor. He opened new churches. But he made a lot of decisions on his own without listening to others. That had its consequences after the Dirty War 1974-1983. During the military dictatorship called the junta, he ordered the Jesuit priests to stay quiet. It was brought up after the Dirty War in 1983, and later in 2013 when he became pope. He admitted that he made mistakes and regretted them.
The priests, who disliked his actions, stopped his rise. Instead, he was sent to Cordoba where he needed permission for anything he wanted to do. It was a harsh punishment for him, to go from giving orders and making decisions on his own. Now, he was serving poor people of Cordoba.
In 1992, his punishment ended and he was appointed to help the archbishop of Buenos Aires run all the Catholic churches in the city. After many years of humble work and soul-searching, he had changed. Now, he listened to others before making decisions. And he focused even more on helping the poor.
When he became archbishop in 1998, he didn’t wear silk robes or used any luxuries. He remained in simple robes, lived in a small apartment, and used public transportation.
Now, he wasn’t afraid to speak up publicly against the government. His courage impressed many people, including the pope, at the time, John Paul II, who made Jorge a cardinal in 2001.
With his continuous work, he proved to be a strong leader who chose to lead humble life despite his titles and luxuries they offered.
On March 13, 2013, Jorge became the new pope taking the name of Francis, honoring St. Francis of Assisi who was known for helping the poor.
One of the first things he did, he got in touch with the US and Cuban presidents, and offered to be their go-between. So the two countries could bridge their differences.
He continued to be outspoken in regards to the poor. He said, “I want a Church that is poor and for the poor.”
This biography illustrates a man who found his calling as a teenager and followed through despite his parents wanting him to take a different vocation. He was smart and empathetic toward poor, always wanting to help them, but along his rise he made some decisions that made others question his actions. His descent gave him time to reflect on his decisions. After soul-searching, he had risen again to the very top by becoming a pope, and continuously serving those in needs.
July 15, 2018
"Who Is Pope Francis?" by Stephanie Spinner is an amazing biography about Pope Francis. Pope Francis was the pope who decided to make a change in the church. When he was elected as pope he was in Argentina. Also, he was a Jesuit before he was pope. He was also a bishop before he was the pope. Pope Francis is a great example for all Christians.
April 26, 2022
Ok, so first of all, I hate when they write biographies like this when the guy is still alive... like, this book will be totally irrelevant in a few years, and will need to be updated if not rewritten.
When a book is written like that, I feel like the author would be even subconsciously thinking, "If this guy reads my book, I want him to think good things about me... hmmm" and just try to throw in some extra nice things about him in there. Everything needs to sound just a bit more flattering. You just can't be as brutally honest when they're still living!
When a book is written like that, I feel like the author would be even subconsciously thinking, "If this guy reads my book, I want him to think good things about me... hmmm" and just try to throw in some extra nice things about him in there. Everything needs to sound just a bit more flattering. You just can't be as brutally honest when they're still living!
December 25, 2022
Very interesting.
June 1, 2023
Interesting read.
May 26, 2020
While this was a children's book [written in 2017], it opened my eyes to things Pope Francis has done since becoming Pope in 2013.
It brought up several facts on pages 102-103 [that I thought were REALLY cool]:
-He is the first Jesuit pope
-The first pope from South America
-The first pope to take the name Francis [after Francis of Assisi]
-The first pope with 11 million Twitter followers, a Facebook page, and an Instagram account
-The first pope to wash the feet of a woman
-The first pope to excommunicate the Mafia [they can no longer be part of the Catholic Church]
-The first pope to take selfies
-The first pope to build a shelter for the homeless in Rome, and the first to spend his birthday with them
-The first pope to say that he does not judge gay people [I wonder what that means?]
-He is the first pope to write an encyclical--a letter to all the Church bishops--about the dangers of climate change
-He helped clean up the Curia [the Vatican Bank that was corrupt]
So, all in all, I think there have been a LOT of positives from his leadership. Now, I cannot say I have followed him that closely, but from learning these things, I have a REALLY good impression of him. I REALLY admire his humility, as I came across example after example of this--along with a servant's heart.
However, I still have a LOT to learn [I'm not sure if that will be good or bad--HOPEFULLY good!]
It brought up several facts on pages 102-103 [that I thought were REALLY cool]:
-He is the first Jesuit pope
-The first pope from South America
-The first pope to take the name Francis [after Francis of Assisi]
-The first pope with 11 million Twitter followers, a Facebook page, and an Instagram account
-The first pope to wash the feet of a woman
-The first pope to excommunicate the Mafia [they can no longer be part of the Catholic Church]
-The first pope to take selfies
-The first pope to build a shelter for the homeless in Rome, and the first to spend his birthday with them
-The first pope to say that he does not judge gay people [I wonder what that means?]
-He is the first pope to write an encyclical--a letter to all the Church bishops--about the dangers of climate change
-He helped clean up the Curia [the Vatican Bank that was corrupt]
So, all in all, I think there have been a LOT of positives from his leadership. Now, I cannot say I have followed him that closely, but from learning these things, I have a REALLY good impression of him. I REALLY admire his humility, as I came across example after example of this--along with a servant's heart.
However, I still have a LOT to learn [I'm not sure if that will be good or bad--HOPEFULLY good!]
November 2, 2020
This is a very good book that tells the story of Pope Francis. As a Catholic, there are a lot of things I didn't know about the Pope. Maybe because I never had the time to look it up. This book by Stephanie Spinner helped me to get to know Pope Francis a little bit more. Being a Pope during this time is a little different. According to the book, Pope Francis is the first Pope that ever took a selfie. Isn't that crazy? Out of all the Popes, Pope Francis was the first known Pope that wanted to live in a small house rather than to sleep in the big and fancy room. Growing up in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis encountered a lot of difficulty. He connected with the poor and he continues to go to isolated location to bless its people. You can see his hard work and dedication as a leader of the Catholic Church-- that's the reason why a lot of people, including me look up to him.
I connected to this book personally because as a Catholic, I would like to know how is the Catholic Church being led to by the Pope. Additional feature of this book besides the illustration is that it included definition of the words we don't know that are connected to the Catholic Church. It explains terminology and places that are important to Catholic faith.
I connected to this book personally because as a Catholic, I would like to know how is the Catholic Church being led to by the Pope. Additional feature of this book besides the illustration is that it included definition of the words we don't know that are connected to the Catholic Church. It explains terminology and places that are important to Catholic faith.
December 28, 2025
As an entry in the Who HQ series, Who Was Pope Francis provides background on his upbringing and education that is good but does a lot to oversimplify Pope Francis' positions on issues when he was following Catholic teaching about our care for the environment and showing compassion to people no matter their situation in life.
May 12, 2018
I like the "Who is" series. You can learn about each person but don't have to invest a long time reading about them. Great for elementary students. I had been wanting to learn more about Pope Francis and this was a great way to do it.
June 3, 2019
My 7 year old bought me this book at the book fair because she knows I respect and admire this man. These books (the whole series) are simple and easy to read, which my kids love, as well as informative and interesting.
November 1, 2022
Excellent, inspiring biography. I like how it told of not a perfect man, but one who grew more Christlike as he devoted his life to serving others in need and in truly loving them as brothers and sisters of our Father in Heaven.
January 6, 2023
This was a fast read but very interesting. It shows the progression of how a priest can become the pope. There was a lot of personal information on Jorge which was also interesting. This is a good beginning to understanding the progression of a priest to a pope.
January 18, 2025
Pope Francis is the head of the Catholic Church and he is a very kind man and is always trying to help people along with helping the church. One of the two people that he helped was President Obama and Raul Castro which was very interesting to read along with his life. I did love this book.
January 31, 2018
i liked it
May 17, 2018
I’m a huge fan of Pope Francis. This is a great read! Quick with lots of information.
June 1, 2018
Good history of the pope. One of my favorites in the series.
January 11, 2019
Good very brief overview of his life. There wasn't much depth to it but it does show his sense of humility and kindness.
April 20, 2019
I love this series and this is one of my favorite. It's a great read and I've learned a lot of Pope Francis. It's a cute children series. Recommend it for all ages.
March 30, 2020
I read this to my grandma and he’s a really great guy and I loved the book too
June 10, 2020
A good read. I had no idea how catholic churches functioned or about the pope election process. Good to know about it all.
July 13, 2020
I learned a lot about this Pope and the papacy in general. A quite enjoyable read.
February 29, 2024
Very informative and a quick read to get some basic information on the pope. Not only does this book speak on the pope but gives you and understanding of different roles one can get.
May 15, 2018
I already liked the guy. Now I love him. A true definition of what religion preaches and represents.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews