An early biography paints Pope Francis as 'The Great Reformer' of the Catholic Church

Pope Francis died Monday, leaving behind a legacy as "Pope of the People" and a change agent within the Catholic Church. Austen Ivereigh's The Great Reformer was published just a year into Pope Francis's papacy. But already, the biography argues, the pope had solidified his position as a radical reformer, both in his approach to hot-button issues and his interactions with regular people. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Ivereigh and NPR's Eric Westervelt. They discuss Pope Francis's upbringing in Argentina, his approach as an evangelizer, and the way his positions were at times misjudged by certain Catholics and the media. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy