Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Robert Prevost, is set to release a collection of his early writings from the 2000s in English later this year. The book, titled Freedom Under Grace: Reflections on the Spiritual Tradition That Formed Me, will be published in September by Penguin Random House Christian in the United States. It features previously unpublished homilies and addresses from Prevost's tenure as prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine between 2001 and 2013.
A message of love and service
According to Campbell Wharton, publisher at Penguin Random House Christian, the book contains “an urgent message of love and service to address the challenges of the world today”. Originally released in Italian by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican's publishing house, the English edition will be the launch title of a new spirituality imprint at Penguin division Cornerstone in the UK. Wharton described it as a book “for any Catholic, but also any Christian or spiritual seeker”.
From Chicago to the papacy
Prevost became the first American pope in May 2025. Born in Chicago, he studied mathematics at Villanova University in Philadelphia before being ordained as a priest in Rome in 1982. He was subsequently sent to a mission in Peru. After serving as prior general of the Augustinian order in the 2000s, he was consecrated as a bishop in 2014 and made a cardinal by the late Pope Francis in 2023.
Chronological insight into theological development
The collection is organized chronologically, allowing “readers to observe the development of Prevost’s thinking”, according to editor Matthew Burdette in a reader's note. Themes covered in the book include education, leadership, diversity, and “the church in the world”. The title Freedom Under Grace is drawn from the Rule of Saint Augustine, where the Bishop of Hippo urges his monks to live “not as servants under the law, but as men free under grace”.
Previous publication
A separate collection of sermons and speeches made by Prevost since becoming pope was published as Peace Be with You!: My Words to the Church and to the World in February 2025.
