Mark Shriver

The subtitle of Mark Shriver's book Pilgrimage is My Search for the Real Pope Francis. The implication is that there is some confusion, disagreement, or misunderstanding about who Pope Francis is. It's almost as if Pope Francis is too good to be true. Or perhaps there's a suspicion that the public persona of Pope Francis is a mask that conceals his real agenda. As Shriver himself writes in the prologue,

I kept warning myself not to believe unconditionally in a guy who, I kept reminding show more myself, headed a very flawed institution and would need to execute some serious reforms before I could truly consider him "the real deal."

But as he continues reflecting on his interest in the man previously known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Shriver comes to understand a deeper reason for writing his book:

I needed and wanted more of Bergoglio in my life. I needed him to help remedy my own distance from the Church and faith I was born into. I wanted to explore the warts and moles and failures as well as the virtues and good words and successes. Can I believe him? Can he help me? Is he for real?

By going on pilgrimage to visit the places and people that formed Jorge Mario Bergoglio into the man the world now knows as Pope Francis, Shriver hopes to find that Pope Francis is real and not an illusion. Because if Pope Francis is real, with all of Bergoglio's "warts and moles and failures," then there is hope for the rest of us.

Pilgrimage grew on me as I read it, probably because it revealed more and more about Pope Francis with each successive chapter. The further I got into the book, the closer I felt to Francis.

It was interesting to observe how Shriver was affected by what he discovered, and I admire his courage in visiting some of the dangerous slums in Buenos Aires in order to speak to priests who knew Bergoglio in the 1990s. Shriver's meeting with those priests, Toto and Pepe, were some of my favorite parts of the book, along with the section that described how Bergoglio was able to convince Jorge Luis Borges to come to his high school literature classroom. Ultimately, it was the final chapter and afterword that most moved me, partly because of the presence of Pope Francis himself, and partly because of Shriver's descriptive and reflective talent.

While I enjoyed Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis, the book probably has its greatest appeal to those who, like Shriver, feel disconnected from the Catholic Church and yet feel drawn to Pope Francis.

Regardless of where you find yourself in relationship to the Church, Shriver's book does a fine job in helping the reader understand many of the key influences on the life of one of the world's most compelling figures.

Highly recommended. show less

Worth reading for some of the stories about Pope Francis, the inspirational things he has done and said, his time as a teacher, his quiet role in keeping Argentina together during a time of of crisis, and his acts of kindness when he thought no one was looking. It was also interesting to learn that his past could be controversial, including his "demotion/exile" within the Jesuit order and how that affected him. And, it was fascinating to follow his spiritual path toward humility.

We can all show more learn from Pope Francis and from the examples of other priests in the book who not only serve their communities so generously, but often do so at great danger to their own lives. The mention of the Catholic Church often brings the sex scandal immediately to people's minds. The actions of the priests who abused children and teens are atrocious, repugnant, and as far from Christ-like as you can get. It's reassuring to read about priests who are the good guys.

However, while Shriver did his research, the writing seemed capricious and self-serving. He inserts odd asides here and there that draw attention to him rather than to the pope. (In fact, the font size of his name on the cover is the same as for Pope Francis. That's the work of the graphic designer, not Shriver, but it's still an indicator that it's as much about the author as it is about his subject.) Finally, the ending felt rushed, tying things up too quickly and too "neatly." I think he tried; I just don't think (for me, anyway) that he pulled the book together coherently enough or kept his focus on the pope's life.

I'll end on a positive note, though, with words from Pope Francis:
"Practice the commandment of love, not on the basis of ideas or concepts, but rather on the basis of genuine interpersonal encounter. We need to build up this culture of encounter. We do not love concepts or ideas; no one loves a concept or an idea. We love people." show less

Ever read a children's book and find yourself feeling jealous that such a book wasn't a part of your childhood? Well, this book will induce the same feelings. It is not common for a children's book to get the three 'I's -- Idea, Implementation and Illustrations -- perfectly correct. There is always some or the other aspect that they could have worked better on. But in this book, I can't find a single point to complain about.

Idea: How to teach children to see heroes in day to day life. Is it show more just superheroes who can be heroes? this book shows why not.

Implementation: A simple seek-and-find book where the children will search for the hidden heroes amid the illustrations using the poetic clue given.

Illustrations: Colourful, cute, and connectable to the children.

This is a whole-hearted 5 star rating from me. I loved loved loved this book. It's perfect for young children.

I received an advance review copy of the book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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On the whole I enjoyed this brightly-illustrated, well laid-out book which teaches multiplication by depicting increasing numbers of pairs. The pairs themselves take the form of people engaging in volunteer work and related community-based activities. The combined focused of pairs and civic engagement is perhaps a bit niche, but in this case it feels genuine and is executed pretty successfully.