In a New Book Narrated by Stephen Colbert, Pope Leo XIV Takes Aim at Neoliberalism, Hunger, and Revenge

Twelve years of homilies from the Augustinian prior general who became pope, out Tuesday from Penguin Random House — plus Father Joseph Farrell’s full CNN interview. New $80 subscribers get it free.

Stephen Colbert at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 14, 2026, where “The Late Show” won outstanding variety series, and Pope Leo XIV the same day, his 71st birthday, beside the cover of Freedom Under Grace, published Tuesday by Image Books. (Letters from Leo illustration)

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Dear friends —

Before you read today’s essay, one important note:

Anyone who purchases a yearly subscription to Letters from Leo or donates $80 or more from this post will receive a free copy of Freedom Under Grace: Reflections on the Spiritual Tradition That Formed Me, the first book of Pope Leo XIV’s own writings from before the papacy.

This offer is available through Thursday, October 8, at 11:59 PM PT.

We have done this three times before — with Gerard O’Connell and Elisabetta Piqué’s The Election of Pope Leo XIV in March, with Christopher Lamb’s American Hope in April, and, most recently, with Elise Ann Allen’s biography in May — and so many of you joined our community through those books.

This time the author is the pope.

I’ll explain below why this one belongs on your shelf.