Let Us Dream

In this “powerful” New York Times bestseller, Pope Francis offers a “clarion call to create a more just and sustainable world” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

In this book, written in collaboration with his biographer, Austen Ivereigh, Pope Francis explains why we must—and how we can—make the world safer, fairer, and healthier for all people now.

During the COVID crisis, the beloved shepherd of over one billion Catholics saw the cruelty and inequity of our society exposed more vividly than ever before. He also saw, in the resilience, generosity, and creativity of so many people, the means to rescue our society, our economy, and our planet. In direct, powerful prose, Pope Francis urges us not to let the pain be in vain.

He begins by exploring what this crisis can teach us about how to handle upheaval of any kind in our own lives and the world at large. With unprecedented candor, he reveals how three crises in his own life changed him dramatically. By its very nature, he shows, crisis presents us with a choice: We make a grievous error if we try to return to some pre-crisis state. But if we have the courage to change, we can emerge from crisis better than before.

Francis then offers a brilliant, scathing critique of the systems and ideologies that produce crisis, from a global economy obsessed with profit and heedless of the people and environment it harms, to politicians who foment fear to increase their own power. He reminds us that Christians’ first duty is to serve others, especially the poor and the marginalized, just as Jesus did.

Finally, the Pope offers an inspiring and actionable blueprint for building a better world for all humanity by putting the poor and the planet at the heart of new thinking—drawing not only on sacred sources, but on the latest findings from scientists, economists, and other thinkers. Yet rather than simply offering prescriptions, he shows how ordinary people acting together despite their differences can discover unforeseen possibilities.

Along the way, he offers dozens of wise and surprising observations on the value of unconventional thinking, on why we must dramatically increase women’s leadership in the Church and throughout society, on what he learned while scouring the streets of Buenos Aires with garbage-pickers, and much more. Let Us Dream is an epiphany, a call to arms, and a pleasure to read. It is Pope Francis at his most personal, profound and passionate. With this book and with open hearts, we can change the world.

“Forward-looking, heartfelt spiritual guidance.” —Kirkus Reviews