“The Book That Formed Me” — Pope Leo’s Surprising Spiritual Guide
Returning from his Türkiye-Lebanon trip, Pope Leo XIV offered reporters an unexpected key to his worldview: he recommended a slim 17th-century devotional, “The Practice of the Presence of God.”
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Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God, the spiritual classic he says “best represents who he is.”
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At 30,000 feet on his flight back to Rome this week, Pope Leo XIV let journalists in on a personal spiritual secret. One reporter had asked what single book (apart from St. Augustine’s works) would help people understand who he really is.
The Holy Father didn’t hesitate: he pointed to a little-known classic, The Practice of the Presence of God.
“It’s a very simple book,” Leo explained, written centuries ago by an obscure Carmelite friar known only as Brother Lawrence.
Yet in its simplicity, the pope said, the book “describes… a type of prayer and spirituality where one simply gives his life to the Lord and allows the Lord to lead. If you want to know something about me, that has been my spirituality for many years.”
In other words, a humble monk’s wisdom has guided Leo through life’s highs and lows.
Leo’s endorsement immediately shone a spotlight on The Practice of the Presence of God, a 300-year-old spiritual guide that is as unpretentious as its author.
Brother Lawrence (born Nicolas Herman in 1614) was a lay brother in a Paris monastery who spent his days in the kitchen, peeling potatoes and scrubbing pots.
Far from seeking glory, he discovered a profound truth in those ordinary tasks: God is present in the mundane as much as in the majestic.
The book, compiled from Lawrence’s letters and conversations after his death, teaches one core idea: every moment can be a prayer.
“Every action, however small, can become an act of communion,” as one summary of the book notes.
Whether he was washing dishes or walking in the courtyard, Brother Lawrence made it his practice to chat with God continually, offering each little chore to Him in love.
He famously wrote that amid the clatter of the kitchen he possessed God’s presence as fully and peacefully “as if I were on my knees in the chapel.”
No elaborate rituals or lofty education were required — only a heart fixed on God throughout the day.
For Pope Leo, this simple spirituality isn’t just theory — it has defined his own journey. He what’s he revealed to us yesterday.
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