A Year with the Popes: Daily Meditations with the Vicar of Christ

By Jeffrey Kirby

As Christians, our faith is founded on the papal office, the very institution Christ Himself bestowed authority on to lead His Church.

In A Year with the Popes, award-winning author Fr. Jeffrey Kirby gives an original exposition of the nobility and enduring power of the papacy. This manual reads as an engaging parade through the history of the papacy, showing its biblical foundations in Sacred Scripture and providing portions of Saint Peter's own letters from the New Testament, before pivoting to recount the twists and turns of the papal ministry and the various men who have served as successors of Saint Peter.

Father Kirby dives into the triumph of the good and saintly popes and the scandals of the bad, and provides papal teachings that occurred at monumental times, such as the slave trade, the Line of Demarcation that prevented a European war, the Galileo affair, the institution of a new calendar for the West, reactions to the world wars of the twentieth century, the advent of the sexual revolution, and more.

Avoiding academic staleness and cold, empty passages from documents, A Year with the Popes gives an encouraging affirmation of the divine character of the papal office as it walks through history and explores the teachings of these men who were called the Vicar of Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TAN Books
• Release date: Nov 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9781505120073

Jeffrey Kirby

Fr. Jeffrey Kirby is pastor at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in the Diocese of Charleston in Indian Land, South Carolina. He is the author of several books, including Kingdom of Happiness: Living the Beatitudes in Everyday Life; Doors of Mercy: Exploring God's Covenant with You; and Lord, Teach Us to Pray. He has appeared on EWTN, Salt + Light television, and the BBC, as well as on Catholic radio. In 2016, in recognition of his widespread service to young adults, he received the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor. Kirby is an adjunct professor of theology at Belmont Abbey College and Pontifex University/Holy Spirit College. He is also a spirituality contributor to Crux and a guest columnist for The Catholic Thing. He served in a number of parish and Catholic school positions in South Carolina. He is a veteran of the Army National Guard, for which he received several ribbons and medals. Kirby also has led retreats for various monasteries and schools of the Visitation Sisters throughout the world. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he also was given the 2017 John King Mussio Award for Faithful Service to the Church. Kirby also earned a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He has a master’s degree in bioethics from the Pontifical Athenaeum Queen of the Apostles in Rome and a licentiate in moral theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, where he also earned a doctorate in sacred theology.

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