In little over two years, Pope Francis has electrified much of the world, generating headlines on a near daily basis. Catholics and non-Catholics alike are fascinated by a Pope who seems so different from his predecessors: personally modest and unassuming, indifferent to the trappings of office, dedicated to transparency, showing a rapport and concern about people from all walks of life and, most important, taking positions on issues such as poverty, climate change and modern society that resonate with millions. For believers and non-believers he's quickly become a cultural icon not unlike the Dalai Lama.
Media coverage of Pope Francis will increase dramatically next month: the Pontiff's first visit to the United States takes place September 22-27 and will include a meeting at the White House with President Obama and the First Lady, an address to a joint session of Congress and an address to the UN General Assembly. The Pope will also hold several Masses, a range of meetings, visits to schools and a jail, and he will be at the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.
Americans who want to know more about this special Pope can turn to Loyola Press, which has several important books that examine the Pope's life, his background and his mission. They include two books by the Pope, The Church of Mercy and Walking with Jesus, as well as Pope Francis: Life and Revolution by Elisabetta Piqué, an Argentinian journalist who covers the Vatican and has known the Pope for a decade and a half, and Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads by Chris Lowney, a former Jesuit seminarian and business leadership writer. (For more about these books, see below.)
For the Jesuit press, it's been a godsend of sorts to witness the election of the first Jesuit pontiff. "When it comes to Pope Francis, we are the bestselling Catholic publisher," said Andrew Yankech, Business Development Manager, Trade, at Loyola Press. He noted that Loyola deliberately did not publish any books on the Pope immediately after his election in 2013. "Others did instant books or republished books by or about him when he was still the former Cardinal Bergoglio," but the Press waited and published its first titles "through our lens, sharing the power and the inspiration that is Pope Francis."
Joe Durepos, Executive Editor at Loyola Press, spoke of the Jesuit press's deep connection with the Jesuit Pope, saying, "Everything the Pope is doing and saying flows from his Jesuit training." That approach goes back to Ignatius of Loyola, founder in the 1500s of the Society of Jesus, which has deep traditions of education and social justice. "Ignatius wanted to be engaged in the real world" rather than retreat into monastic life, Durepos noted. In that vein, Pope Francis has said he sees the church as "a field hospital after battle," caring for the broken, the poor, the needy, which is "very much the charism of the Jesuits," Durepos said.
Yankech noted that the Pope's message resonates with a range of people, particularly millenials, who are "tired of bickering and the acrimony of the partisan divide and want to focus on how they can live better and help people."
The Press itself has deep roots among its readers. As a niche publisher, Loyola Press is closely in touch with the community and market it serves, Yankech said, and thus is "more connected with our customers than others."
Durepos echoed that thought, saying that the Press aims to be "vital, vibrant and contemporary" and is "down in the weeds where everyday people live and work. We have conversations that corporate publishers can't have and that we can't afford not to have."
Founded over 100 years ago and once part of Loyola University in Chicago, Loyola Press is the only Jesuit-owned book publisher in North America. Its titles range from books on Ignatian spirituality, which derives from St. Ignatius's classic work The Spiritual Exercises, to books on prayer, the saints, as well as Catholic life and spirituality. Both a curriculum and trade publisher, the press releases 15-20 trade titles a year. Selling with its own sales force, Loyola focuses on the traditional trade, Barnes & Noble, Catholic bookstores, CBA stores (which are selling more Catholic titles as the number of Catholic bookstores has shrunk), direct and to parishes. (Parishes buy one off as needed or make bulk purchases such as for their One Book, One Parish program. Often a parish will buy a copy of a title for each family in the parish, so orders can range from several hundred to 1,000 or more.)
Loyola's trade program has also tried to fill the gap created by major traditional trade publishers, which have cut back on Catholic titles and whose religious publishing currently is focused on evangelical and mind/body/spirit.
For Loyola, the books by and about Pope Francis are a labor of love and align perfectly with its mission, which, as Durepos put it, is "to reach people where they are and bring relevant good news."
