THE TWEETABLE POPE

Boston Globe journalist and Catholic commentator Michael O’Loughlin opens a wonderful window into the heart and revolutionary mission of Pope Francis by examining his extensive and revelatory use of social media—published to coincide with the pontiff’s visit to the United States in September 2015.

Michael O’Loughlin uses Pope Francis’s almost daily “tweets” to his 21 million followers to explain why this pope has captured the world’s imagination and to explore his strategy and vision for the Catholic Church. Grouped by the Pope’s most pressing concerns—forgiveness, mercy, injustice, poverty, war, joy, the environment, and more—The Tweetable Pope uses Francis’ pithy 140-character (or fewer) missives as a prism to view the biographical, historical, and spiritual context of his messages and how each is part of a larger vision.

O’Loughlin contends that these seemingly simple communications provide a direct line to the Pope’s heart, illuminating a peaceful, loving, and courageous visionary committed to restoring the church to the original Christian tenets of its founder, Jesus Christ—love, mercy, grace, and compassion—and reshaping it as a force for change to help the most needy. A thoughtful and enlightening examination of how the pope is using this exciting and fascinating new medium to communicate directly to his flock, The Tweetable Pope is an inspiring and moving testimony of how we, too, can be more centered on what matters most to God.

Praised by the National Catholic Reporter for having "a keen eye and an adroit pen," Michael J. O'Loughlin is the national reporter for Crux, The Boston Globe's publication covering "all things Catholic." O'Loughlin writes regularly about contem- porary Catholic issues, including religion and politics, Catholic young adults, the role of the Church in the public square, and much more at Cruxnow.com. O'Loughlin has also written for Foreign Policy, America, and The Advocate, and he has been interviewed by a number of media outlets, including NPR, FOX News, and MSNBC. Originally from Massachusetts, O'Loughlin lives in Chicago and reports occasionally from Rome. He is a graduate of Saint Anselm College and Yale Divinity School.