ROME (CNA)—One of the largest publishing companies in Europe is releasing a first-ever weekly magazine dedicated entirely to Pope Francis due to the impact his pontificate has had in the world over the last year.
On March 3 Mondadori, Italy’s largest book and magazine publisher and the third largest in the consumer magazine segment in France, announced their new magazine Il Mio Papa, which is to be the world’s first magazine dedicated entirely to the bishop of Rome.
The first issue of the Italian language magazine was set to hit newsstands on March 5; an initial print run of 3 million copies is to be released during the first month.
“The idea for a magazine designed to report on and share the words and actions of Pope Francis came from observing how his election has stimulated a renewed interest on ethical, religious and moral issues,” the magazine’s editor, Aldo Vitali, said in a March 3 press release announcing the publication.
“In fact, the current pope is a figure who, thanks to his empathy, as well as the power, the courage and the simplicity of his message, has won over everyone, both the faithful and non-believers,” he observed.
According to the press release, the new magazine will have a positive and popular approach with a layout that is colorful, easy to read, and will engage readers with moving photographic images, and will cover the weekly events of the Roman pontiff, including his meetings, pronouncements, engagements and audiences, such as his weekly Angelus and general audience addresses.
Included in the magazine as a gift will be a double poster of Pope Fancis along with the most impactful phrase of the week, and every issue will include a piece of illustrated history on the life of the pontiff, done by artist Tiziana Lupi and which are designed as pull-out inserts to be collected.
For the first edition, Mondadori will include a special feature on the one-year anniversary of the pope’s election, which will also be covered in a DVD as a supplement to the magazine the following week.
Il Mio Papa will launch with a price of 50 euro cents, and shortly after will be available on Facebook, Twitter, and the magazine’s website, www.miopapa.it.
