Pope Francis’ bookish side was revealed on Sunday when the Vatican published a letter in which the pope encouraged young priests to read – while also revealing that he himself loves great tragedies.
“How can we speak to the hearts of men and women if we ignore, set aside or fail to appreciate the ‘stories’ through which they tried to express and reveal the drama of their life experiences in novels and poems,” the pope asked in his July 17 letter to prospective priests, published by the Vatican in eight languages on Sunday.
In the lengthy text – which mentions great literary figures such as CS Lewis, Marcel Proust, TS Eliot and Argentina’s Jorge Luis Borges – Francis argues that reading is “part of the path to personal maturity” and is therefore important not only for those joining the priesthood but for all Christians in general.
Noting that the Apostle Paul was a reader, Francis advocated spending time reading, saying a good book can “distract us from other less beneficial choices” and open minds that are “trapped in certain obsessive thoughts.”
“In moments of fatigue, anger, frustration or failure, when even prayer does not help us find inner peace, a good book can help us weather the storm until we find mental tranquility,” the 87-year-old Argentine Jesuit wrote.
Pope – who also has interests in jazz and football – has occasionally dropped hints about his favourite reading list.
He has cited Dostoevsky as his favorite author, admitted to having read Italy’s landmark 1827 novel “The Betrothed” three times, and described author Alessandro Manzoni as a champion of “victims and those who come in last.”
In a speech about artificial intelligence to the G-7 in June, Francis cited Robert Hugh Benson’s 1907 dystopian novel “Lord of the World”: “It’s good to read it, it’s interesting,” he told the G-7 leaders.
In his letter to young priests, Francis explained that reading — which requires more personal engagement than watching movies or television — improves one’s vocabulary, develops intellectual capacity and reduces stress and anxiety.
He said he regretted that literature was considered unnecessary in the training of priests.
an open mind’
“To balance this inevitable temptation to adopt a frenetic and uncritical lifestyle, we desperately need to step back, slow down, take time to look and listen,” the pope wrote. “This can happen when one simply pauses to read a book.”
Personally, Francis recalled teaching high school literature at a Jesuit school at the age of 28, where he faced resistance from students who did not want to read certain select books.
The pope argued that even difficult or boring texts have value, and said people should read with an “open mind” and a “willingness to be surprised.”
He said, “I, for my part, love tragedies because we can all adopt their compositions as our own works, as expressions of our own personal drama.”
“In weeping over the fate of our characters, we are in effect weeping for ourselves, for our emptiness, shortcomings, and loneliness.”
Francis wrote that seeing life through the eyes of others through literature leads to a better perspective and greater humanity, as readers step outside their own lives and enter the lives of others.
“We are entangled in the lives of the fruit seller, the prostitute, the orphan child, the mason’s wife, the old woman who still believes that one day she will find her prince,” he said.
Francis wrote that immersing oneself in the thoughts and fears of characters facing difficult challenges has hidden benefits.
“Perhaps even that by reading a story to the end we gain insights that will later prove helpful in our own lives.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
