Start with the plain facts, because the listing does not make all of them obvious. Pope Francis Family Devotional: 365 Reflections to Share With Your Kids was compiled and written by Rebecca Vitz Cherico, not by Pope Francis. The quotations are his; the reflections around them are hers. Our Sunday Visitor published it in August 2016 and it runs 376 pages. Pope Francis died on 21 April 2025.
An earlier version of this review said the book covers leap years. It does not. There are 365 reflections, one per day, and no entry for 29 February.
This is a Catholic book
Called to Better is written from a non denominational evangelical position, and we carry Catholic titles without turning every review into an argument. But you should know what you are buying, and this one is Catholic through and through rather than incidentally.
The publisher is Catholic. The source material is papal. A Protestant family reading it will meet Marian devotion, references to the saints, sacramental language, and an assumed view of papal teaching authority that we do not share. None of that is hidden in the book, and none of it is a reason to pretend the book is something else.
What we would say plainly: the gospel of grace through faith in Christ alone is not what this book is built to teach. If that is what you want in a family devotional, this is not your book. What it is built to do is get a family talking about mercy, humility, the poor, forgiveness, and daily kindness, and Francis was genuinely good on all of those.
How it works day to day
Each day gives you a short quotation from Pope Francis followed by a brief reflection meant to open a conversation. The entries are short enough to survive a real dinner table with real children. That is not a small thing. Most family devotionals are written at a length that assumes an attention span nobody in the house actually has.
The tone is warm and accessible. Francis had a gift for plain speech about mercy and about caring for people the world overlooks, and the selections lean into that. Younger children will follow most of it; older kids will get more out of the reflections.
Where it is strongest
On mercy, on humility, and on the poor, this book is very good, and evangelical families are not always well served on those themes. Francis pressed hard on the idea that faith which does not reach your neighbor is not doing its job. That preaches in any tradition.
Who it is for
Catholic families, straightforwardly. Also mixed households, and evangelical families who are comfortable reading across traditions and doing a little translating out loud with their kids. That translating can be its own useful exercise, but you have to be willing to do it.
If you want a devotional you can hand to your family without commentary, choose one from your own tradition.
Bottom line
A well made, warm, thoroughly Catholic family devotional with real strengths on mercy and service. Buy it with your eyes open and it can serve you. Buy it expecting an evangelical book and it will not.
Find the Pope Francis Family Devotional on Amazon.