The book offers a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of the Vatican, which I found especially interesting as someone far removed from the Church. However, I had two significant issues with it.

First, the title is misleading. From Pope Leo XIV, I expected the book to focus primarily on the Pope himself—his personality, background, and life story. In reality, he only appears meaningfully in the second half. I was hoping for a deeper, more personal portrait, so this was disappointing.

Second, I was troubled by a particular passage discussing U.S.–Vatican relations, where the author referred to the Biden administration’s “effort to escalate the war in Ukraine.” For me, this is a huge red flag. If the author can present such a debatable and, in my view, inaccurate claim about current events, it raises doubts about the reliability of the rest of the work. In non-fiction, where readers expect factual accuracy, this is a serious concern. It left me questioning the credibility of the author’s other interpretations and conclusions.

We are all anxious to find out more information about the newest pope, Pope Leo XIV. Especially those from the USA.

This book by Christopher White is well written and the author is very familiar with the Vatican; (approximately) the first half of the book is about the most recent popes before the newly elected Pope Leo XIV and the process of electing a new pope. (The book is approximately 168 pages.) I kept getting the feeling that the first half of the book has been in progress and that the author was ready to gather as much info together and get this book to press just as soon as the new pope was elected. And I feel that he did that exceptionally well.

I loved to learn that the new pope does Wordle everyday! There was reference to an article about comments from the new popes brother. But some of the things I really loved were stories of his youth and that he really seems like he has been an especially wonderful young lad his entire life, "wanting to play priest" as a child.

I do enjoy memoirs and reading non-fiction and very glad that I had the opportunity to read the advance review copy via NetGalley and Loyola Press and the author Christopher White. Released July 2025. Between 4 & 5 stars.

This book is a strong and engaging introduction to the transition from Pope Francis to Pope Leo XIV. It’s especially helpful for readers who want to understand how Francis’s reforms shaped the Church and influenced the conclave that followed. The structure is clear and well-paced: it starts with an overview of Pope Francis’s legacy, then takes a close look at the recent conclave, and finally gives a short but informative glimpse into Leo XIV’s background and outlook.

The writing is accessible even for those who don’t have much prior knowledge of Vatican politics or Church governance. What stood out to me was how the author made the complex dynamics behind the scenes feel understandable without oversimplifying. While the section on Pope Francis takes up a fair amount of space, it does help set the stage for what follows.

I gave the book four stars because it’s a good, well-balanced overview—but I would’ve liked a bit more of everything, especially more depth on Pope Leo himself. Still, it’s a worthwhile read for anyone interested in recent Church developments and where things might be headed next.


* Huge thanks toward NetGalley and Loyola Press for providing a free e-copy for a honest review!

Pope Leo XIV is an interesting and thought-provoking look at the transition from Pope Francis to Pope Leo. It is easy to read as well as understand. Being elected Pope is one of the mysteries of the Catholic faith.

Pope Francis laid the groundwork for reform and the direction he envisioned the church direction taking. From the book, it looks as if there is still much left undone and yet to be decided. It is early days, but it appears Pope Leo will make this papacy his own by following his faith and not necessarily where other Cardinals want him to lead.

The references to previous Popes were interesting. Learning about the Popes after they have served, is a lot easier to find information. I appreciated the back history which I did not know before this book. I hope to be able to learn more about the new Pope. I find Pope Leo to be somewhat of an enigma despite his down-to-earth persona.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend reading it.

I was rather disappointed in the first 1/3 of the book. It was apparent that this was probably written before Pope Francis’s death. I was expecting more critical thinking and intellectual curiosity from a journalist. While Pope Francis made several positive contributions to the church and understanding the faith, a picture is not complete if troubling issues are not mentioned. Whether it was the disunity the papacy brought about dividing traditional and non-traditional minded Catholics, focusing on certain Truths of the Gospel and not others (such as ostracizing those Catholics who practice the Theology of The Body, or those who were harmed by COVID vaccines and restrictions). Most troubling of all, the lack of leadership and the promotion of certain individuals involved in the sexual abuse crisis, including Marco Rupnik. (This was briefly discussed as a challenge for Pope Leo to deal with) The author simply concluded that those who do not love Pope Francis, such as the American Catholic Church, it’s based purely on economic reasons. This is a shallow understanding of the situation.
Throughout the book the author has placed many citations, which while helpful, also demonstrate that the author likes to cite his own work quite often.
I understand that putting a book together about a new Pope in just a few months is quite a feat, and I appreciate the new information and insight I was able to learn about Pope Leo, but the one-sided view on Pope Francis does a disservice to our Pontiff, to canonize him, rather than reminding the faithful to keep the repose of his soul in our prayers until the Church canonizes him.

The first 1/3 of the book I would give 2 out of 5 stars, the last 2/3 of the book I would give 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Loyola Press for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As a Catholic in the United States, I was thoroughly shocked that the successor to Pope Francis was a guy named Bob from Chicago. I mean, this was huge for us! But upon closer inspection, the new Pope Leo’s selection is in line with the seismic shift the church made when they selected Pope Francis.

In order to understand the selection of Pope Leo, the author goes back to the selection of Pope Francis and how he did things a bit differently than his predecessor. His focus was on migrants and the poor, which was seen by some in the Church as a radically different papacy. Francis elevated Father Bob and became close to the American. They shared similar interests and ideas of the direction of the church.

Pope Leo (the former Bob Prevost) was born and raised on Chicago’s south side, but once found his calling as a priest, has spent most of his adult life in two countries: Italy and Peru. The author, Christopher White, can say he interviewed Pope Leo XIV when he was a cardinal and has greater knowledge of the conclave from being a Vatican reporter than many journalists.

I think this book will be of great interest to not only those interested in Roman Catholic history and teachings, but those who wish to know a little bit more about the new pope from North America and how conclaves work.

Pope Leo XIV is an informative and easy to understand book that explores the past, present and future of Pope Leo XIV’s papacy. This book is written as a voice from the inside by expert Vatican journalistic Christopher White and includes details of the conclave leading up to Pope Leo XIV’s papacy, his vision for the Church's future and the potential impact of his leadership.

Most compelling is the inclusion of insightful interviews and correspondence from church leaders, including Pope Leo before his papacy (when he was known as Cardinal Prevost) as well as past conclaves, papal elections within the Catholic Church and the legacy Pope Francis left behind as Pope Leo’s predecessor. Francis was a pope who valued fidelity, courage and universal love, and was especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. Following in his footsteps, Pope Leo made a promise to continue leading with respect, fidelity, unity and love. His first message was a call for peace, for a Church that is “always seeking peace, charity, closeness, especially to those who are suffering.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the detailed accounts of the inner workings of the Vatican and its popes. One especially fun detail was of the celebratory dinner inside Vatican City the day Pope Leo was appointed. The menu, titled “Election of the Supreme Pontiff Leone XIV,” contained zucchini flan, asparagus risotto, roast beef and potatoes, coffee and zabaione semifreddo, and Ferrari Maximum Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine.

Thank you Loyola Press and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC.

He's the first American pope, a polyglot, and spent approximately 1/3 of his life in three countries, the US, Peru and Italy. The reader learns what legacy Pope Francis left, and what potential direction the Church is moving towards with the election of Pope Leo XIV.

Written by an author with a bird's eye view of the movers and shakers inhabiting the Vatican. This author can truly say I knew him when. Arguably, not personally or extensively but via interviewing him while he occupied the position of Cardinal, as well as through the author's own coverage of Pope Leo's predecessor. There's also the authors' interaction with other Cardinals to give the reader a wider perspective on the election.

This book will appeal to not only those interested in Roman Catholic Church history (from the effect of Vatican II to the growth in the Catholic population in some of the world and the downturn in others) but also to those who desire more than a quick sound bite (all too often in this day and age of instantaneous news) .

"In Illo Uno Unum", ("We are One") is his professed motto It will be interesting to see how this will play out in this fractious age of world politics.

#PopeLeoXIVbook #NetGalley

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Loyola Press ,in exchange for an honest review.