‘We need your imagination, your narrative creativity and your lively thinking… to create spaces of freedom and authenticity, within which divine grace can make the promise of consolation and peace resound,’ Pope Leo told writers gathered today for the centennial of the Holy See’s publishing house.
Pope Leo XIV has curated a book of his homilies, addresses, and writings from his time as prior general of the Order of St Augustine.
Entitled Freedom Under Grace: Reflections on the Spiritual Tradition That Formed Me, it will be published on 15 September 2026 by Cornerstone, a division of Penguin Random House UK.
Pope Leo published the first addresses of his pontificate last year as a book, Let There Be Peace! Words to the Church and to the World, and previously wrote one book, Rule and Constitutions of the Order of Saint Augustine, published in 2002.
Penguin said Freedom Under Grace draws from the spirituality and perspective of St Augustine, and advances a vision of the “spiritual life rooted in community and solidarity, a dogged commitment to the poor and marginalised, and the conviction that the gospel is the message that our restless and divided world most urgently needs”.
The chapters include “Prayer, the Interior Life, and the Search for God”, “Life in Community”, “Social Justice”, “Mission and Evangelisation”, “Church in the World”, “Education”, “Unity and Diversity”, “Hope”, “The Global Church”, and “Conversion and Renewal”.
Campbell Wharton, the US publisher, said it was a “great privilege” to present the book to readers: “Each chapter is a window into the spiritual depth and vision of the man who would eventually become Pope Leo, with an urgent message of love and service to address the challenges of the world today.
“It’s a book for any Catholic, but also any Christian or spiritual seeker looking for guidance and hope for living a life that transforms the world.”
World English rights were acquired by senior editor Matthew Burdette of Image Books, an imprint of the Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group (US), from Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Holy See’s publishing house.
UK and Commonwealth rights were acquired by publishing director Ben Brusey from Denise Cronin, senior vice president and executive director, Subrights, Random House Group.
The book will be the launch title for a new spirituality imprint at Cornerstone that will be announced this summer.
“We are called to be fully human in the midst of an inhuman society,” Pope Leo writes in the book. “Christian holiness is love, and is born in our hearts.
“As Augustinians, we are called to promote life, in the depths of what it means to be truly human; we must promote those values that make true humanity possible: peace and justice, the richness present in all cultures, the beauty of creation in nature.
“To be truly human requires an attitude of service to others and openness to authentic dialogue.”
Penguin has shared an excerpt of the book, taken from a homily Pope Leo gave in 2002: “St Augustine emphasised that in order to be truly dependent on God, the members of the community must be freed up from attachments to material goods.
“Are we, as Augustinians, able to acknowledge our complete dependence on God? Or have we become too dependent upon our own material goods, on the power we exercise, and on our self-determination, to such an extent that we do not need or do not experience that complete dependence on God?
“As Augustinians, we are called to give witness to the kingdom of God, and yet many times, our financial stability, our comfortable lifestyle, our individualism, our lack of trust in the community, and perhaps many other factors as well, gradually become obstacles.
“Usually without realising it, we may find that we are no longer giving witness to the kingdom of God in the prophetic way to which we as Augustinians are called.
“The Spirit, who dwells in the Church, calls us to be renewed, and to be open to change. How does the Spirit bring about such a change?
“By the power of the gospel. And it is there, in deep reflection and prayer centred on the gospel, that we can begin to understand how it is that the Spirit is calling us today, to change, to be renewed, to move forward.
“As Augustinians, we are called to open ourselves to listen to the gospel and to allow our lives to be shaped by the Spirit who speaks to us through Jesus, his teaching and his mission.”
The announcement of the publication coincides with the centennial of the founding of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
“Writing, as you know, is an act of truth, of revelation, for it reveals who we are, what we believe and hope for, the world we strive toward and the future of which we dream,” Pope Leo told a group of writers from around the world, who gathered at the Vatican for the occasion today.
“In this pursuit of truth, we sense that truth is subtle, revealing itself to us in our inner dialogue with God and in our open and respectful dialogue with our neighbours.
“When we delve into the very depths of our humanity, we are not far from God; for there, in the midst of very human stories, God reveals himself.”
Pope Leo continued: “We need your imagination, your narrative creativity and your lively thinking.
“We need these to create spaces of freedom and authenticity, within which divine grace can make the promise of consolation and peace resound,” he said, referencing the Augustinian concepts of freedom and grace that feature in the title of his new book.
He thanked writers for “every time you have sown seeds of reconciliation, of encounter and of friendship”.
“The God of the Bible manifests himself in liberation from slavery, in the birth of a son when all hope seemed lost and in merciful and faithful love. He speaks through events and encounters, faces and stories.”
Pope Leo’s address also quoted his forthcoming book: “God works in our lives through what we do and who we are and through the many people we meet.”
Paul Elie, an American author and a senior fellow at Georgetown University who was among the audience, praised Pope Leo for highlighting the need for writers in today’s world, speaking to EWTN News afterwards.
“Artificial intelligence — thereʼs no question itʼs a threat to literature and writing, and the Pope addressed that today,” Elie said. “‘We need you,’ he said. One reason the world needs writers is that we still write as a free act, not as something created by an algorithm.”
Colum McCann, an Irish writer of literary fiction who was also there, said, “The Holy Father has been talking about stories and storytelling, language, disarming language, and how AI has penetrated the world of storytelling.
“If you get to the heart of the human mystery, you get to the heart of proper storytelling and engagement. We would then hope, somehow, to bring [humanity] back together in these divided times.”