Pope Leo XIV publishes a collection of early writings books

Robert Prevost – now Pope Leo XIV – is set to publish a collection of his writings from the 2000s in English later this year.

Freedom Under Grace: Reflections on the Spiritual Tradition That Shaped Me will be released in September, featuring unpublished sermons and speeches from Prevost’s time as a Past General of the Order of St. Augustine between 2001 and 2013.

Campbell Wharton, publisher of Penguin Random House Christian, the American publisher of the book, said that the book contains “an urgent message of love and service to meet the challenges of the world today.” The collection was originally published in Italian by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican publishing house. In the UK, the launch title for Penguin Division’s new spiritual imprint will be Cornerstone. Wharton also described it as a book “for any Catholic, but also for any Christian or spiritual seeker.”

Prevost became the first American pope in May 2025. Born in Chicago, he studied mathematics at Villanova University, Philadelphia, before being ordained a priest in Rome in 1982. He was later sent to a mission in Peru. After serving as a prior general of the Augustinian Order in the 2000s, he was appointed bishop in 2014, and was made a cardinal by the late Pope Francis in 2023.

The collection is organized chronologically, so that “readers can observe the development of Prevost’s thinking,” editor Matthew Burdett wrote in a note to the reader. Topics covered in the book include education, leadership, diversity, and “the church in the world.” The book’s title is taken from the text of the Code of Saint Augustine, in which the Bishop of Hippo exhorts his monks to live “not as servants under the law, but as free men under grace.”

A collection of sermons and sermons Prevost has given since becoming pope, Hail!: My Words to the Church and the World was published in February.