On his 88th birthday, Pope Francis revealed he survived two assassination attempts during his 2021 apostolic visit to Iraq, a journey already recognized as high-risk. In this episode of Inside the Vatican, Colleen and Gerry examine this shocking disclosure and other insights from his forthcoming autobiography, Hope, with excerpts released to mark the occasion ahead of its January publication. They also reflect on the first-ever visit of a pope to the Mediterranean island of Corsica on Sunday, Dec. 5, where he participated in a conference on popular religiosity and celebrated Mass for the island’s predominantly Catholic community.

Links for further reading from this episode

Please support this podcast by becoming a digital subscriber to America Media.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices