Austen Ivereigh is the British author of two biographies of Pope Francis, and a book written in collaboration with him. His most recent book is First Belong to God: On Retreat with Pope Francis (Loyola Press).
“As Francis has magnificently shown us, a pope serves the People of God with a total self-giving, ad vitam: in sickness or in health, strong or frail, able-bodied or wheelchair-bound, clear in voice or raspy and breathless.”
In the early decades of the twenty-first century, historians will say, the Church sought a new way of operating that would allow it to travel into a new era.
The coronation might be a mess of entangled traditions, of shame as well as glory, but it is also an opportunity for Charles to consecrate himself to service.
From 2020: Pope Francis addresses the English-speaking world as the coronavirus pandemic now reaches the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
