Evangelii Gaudium is proving to be a surprise summer hit with sales reaching 42,000.
Pope Francis’s first apostolic exhortation has become Rome’s bestselling text since the documents of Vatican II, reaching the 25,000 sales mark last year.
Now the text has seen another jump in popularity, with The Catholic Truth Society (CTS) in Britain reporting that total sales have passed 42,000,
The publisher has sold more of the pope’s text than any other document since the documents from the Second Vatican Council.
The top spot is held by Unitatis Redintegratio, the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism, with the society selling 85,000 copies in Britain.
“Pope Francis presents the mercy and charity of the Gospel in a very straightforward way, reaching the hearts of people struggling with day to day issues and giving simple examples of how to live the Christian life,” a spokeswoman for the CTS said. “I think that this is what moves people to want to find out more about what he has to say.”
She said: “Evangelii Gaudium has sold significantly more than any other Papal Document and is still selling. In it, Pope Francis encourages everyone to experience the joy of encounter with Jesus in a personal and intimate way, and then exhorts them to go out and share that joy with others.
“It’s a clarion call that has resonated deep in the hearts of millions of Catholics all over the world.”
Last year’s encylical, Laudato Si, “On care for our common home”, is also selling well, with the Catholic Truth Society selling 15,500 just in Britain. It looks at the environment, and calls on world leader’s to take swift and unified global action to protect the planet.
The document is also proving popular in bookstores, with St Paul’s Bookshop in London selling 1,300 copies in six weeks.
Manager Christopher Shell said: “It is more than double the rate at which we were selling Evangelii Gaudium and Jesus of Nazareth III.
But while Laudato Si and Evangelli Gaudium may be flying up the book charts, they’re yet to reach the popularity of the Compendium of the Catechism.
The 200-page book summarising the key points of the 1992 Catechism exceeded all expectations in 2006 when more than 20,000 copies were sold in a month by CTS alone.
Pope Francis’ other works have also been well received, with CTS selling 5,000 copies of Misericordiae Vultus, the official document proclaiming the Holy Year of Mercy.
Pope Benedict’s last encyclical, Caritas in veritate, released in 2009, sold nearly 9,000 copies.
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