The Pope's Cat Series

"A heartwarming tale, which gives the papacy a human touch." –Christopher Lamb, Rome correspondent, The Tablet "I give it one million stars!" —Luca, Mrs. Gilman's class, St. Margaret Mary School (Omaha, NE) Meet Margaret — the Pope's cat — in the very first book in this best-selling series by Jon M. Sweeney! This is the story of a stray born on the Via della Conciliazione in Rome, how she's adopted by the Pope, and then "rules" the Vatican from museum to floorboard! First in a new series. No one has a closer view of what's happening in the world's tiniest nation, Vatican City, than Margaret, the Pope's new cat. But she wasn't always Margaret, and she wasn't always the Pope's cat. She started out as a stray on the streets of Rome, and there are those in the Vatican who wish she'd never been allowed inside. This fun, adorable new character will appeal to all kids! Here is a cat who does what she likes regardless of what others, even someone like the Pope, expects of her—even when the Queen of England comes on a state visit! This new fiction series is intended for Catholic schools, elementary school teachers, Catholic librarians, superintendents of schools, reading specialists, educators, catechists, school principals, Catholic homeschoolers, and parents.

Margaret — The Pope's Cat — is back! Illustrated in full color. Bang! Slam! Boom! Loud sounds in St. Peter's Square had been going on for nearly an hour already. Margaret was annoyed, because as you may know, cats like to sleep. A lot. The apartment where Margaret lives with the Pope, ever since he adopted her off the streets of Rome, looks out onto St. Peter's Square. And the noises down there kept waking Margaret up. She rolled over, covering her ears with her paws. A few minutes later, the sounds began again, as more trucks arrived to unload even more chairs. Beep, beep, beep, beep went the trucks as they backed up to where men in yellow jackets were waiting to unload them. Then came Bang! Slam! Boom! all over again, as the men arranged the chairs in rows facing the portico of St. Peter's Basilica. All of this was in preparation for a special event to take place the following day, Christmas. ____________ In this delightful new story from their lives, the Pope takes Margaret on a tour of St. Peter's. But when he's called away to work, Margaret gets lost in the world's largest church. She meets saints, children, tourists, and the artist Michelangelo's famous statue, The Pieta, before being reunited with the Pope as Midnight Mass is about to begin.

"Before Margaret met the Pope, she lived on the streets of Rome. She was a small cat in one of the busiest, most crowded, cities in all Europe. Rome is the capital of Italy. Rome surrounds Vatican City, the world's tiniest country, and home to the Pope, the Curia, and the Swiss Guard." So begins this fifth adventure in the lives of Margaret and the Pope. A prequel, this episode tells of the conclave that elected the Pope who would one day meet Margaret on the Via della Conciliazone. It turns out, Margaret was somehow there, watching, in the Sistine Chapel as the votes were cast. Children and adults alike will delight in this behind-the-scenes story about love and the Church, learning not only about what popes do, but this time, how popes are chosen.

The story of Margaret and her friend the Pope continues with Book 3 in The Pope's Cat series. This adventure has Margaret experiencing the prayers, penitence, liturgy, and excitement of Holy Week in the Vatican and Rome—from the joy of Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square, to foot-washing in a Roman prison, the solemnity of Good Friday, and the expectation of Easter. She learns about Jesus and the meaning of his Passion, visits important new places such as The Sistine Chapel, where she seems to pray beside the Pope, and the Roman Colosseum, where she learns that many early Christians were martyrs for their faith. Margaret's friends, the Swiss Guards, are watching over her, and she manages to eat (she still loves to eat!) some interesting foods, even though it's Holy Week. Oh yes, and she sleeps a lot.

In this fourth installment of "The Pope's Cat" series, Margaret and the Pope travel for the first time together away from the Vatican and out of Rome. They go by train to the Umbrian hill town of Assisi, a place of pilgrimage for Christians all over the world who want to remember the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Together they visit the great Basilica named for St. Francis, greet Franciscan friars at the monastery, attend a World Day of Prayer for Peace, meet religious leaders (each, it seems, with a very different hat!) from around the world, and see evidence of the spirit of St. Francis all over town. Most of all, the Pope shows his love and care for his vulnerable creature friend, as at the beginning of the book when someone from the Curia has frightened Margaret and she's hiding in a closet in the Pope's apartment. "Don't worry, il mio amore." (Il mio amore means "My love.") "People can be so fussy, can't they?" the Pope says, picking her up in his arms.