Francisco's autobiography wins literary prize in Italy

The book "Spera" ("Hope" in Portuguese), written by the late Pope Francis, was recognized last Thursday (8) in one of the categories of the Italian literary prize Bancarella.

According to the event organizers, the work, edited by Carlo Musso and published by Mondadori, won the special Bancarella Unicum award.

"We are pleased to announce that the Bancarella Unicum has been awarded to Pope Francis' autobiography, 'Spera', in recognition of the exceptionality and high value of a publication that fascinates readers in 110 countries and 32 languages," celebrated the Italian publisher.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio's autobiography was published in January of this year, just a few months before his death, and became the first book of memoirs published by a sitting pontiff.

"When the abundant suggestions we received led us to include 'Spera' we asked ourselves whether it was right to include a figure of such great importance and charisma as Francis in a competition. It is the only award that does not have a technical jury, but rather an exclusively popular jury, and therefore we believed we could be bold with this decision of ours", explained the president of the Fondazione Città del Libro, Ignazio Landi.

In addition to awarding the book written by the Argentine religious figure, the Bancarella Prize announced the six finalists for the event's main competition. The winner will be announced on July 20.