Pope Francis memoir to be released in January

Pope Francis will release his memoir next year, in what is being described as the first autobiography to ever be published by a pontiff.

"Hope" publisher Penguin Random House said in a Wednesday announcement that the book was originally expected to be published following the death of the 87-year-old head of the Catholic Church. 

But, the publisher said, "the needs of our times and the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope have moved [Francis] to make this precious legacy available now."

The book, which took six years to write, will detail the pope's childhood in Argentina through his present-day papacy.

Francis "deals unsparingly with some of the crucial moments of his papacy," Random House said, and writes candidly about "some of the most important and controversial questions of our present times: war and peace (including the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East), migration, environmental crisis, social policy, the position of women, sexuality, technological developments, the future of the Church and of religion in general."

"Hope," which will be released on Jan. 14, is poised to include never-before-seen photographs and materials.

The publisher called Francis's book a "thrilling and very human memoir, moving and sometimes funny." Random House said it will also serve as a "touching moral and spiritual testament" and will be part of Francis's "legacy of hope for future generations."