Jon M. Sweeney: Thomas Merton: An Introduction to his Life, Teachings, and Practices

Jon M. Sweeney is an author of popular history, spirituality, biography, poetry, fiction for young readers, and memoir. His most frequent subjects are Catholic, particularly St. Francis of Assisi, about whom Sweeney has written The St. Francis Prayer Book, Francis of Assisi in His Own Words, When Saint Francis Saved the Church, The Complete Francis of Assisi, and The Enthusiast, a biography that Richard Rohr calls "An immense and important contribution to our understanding of the great saint." HBO optioned the film rights to The Pope Who Quit, Sweeney's historical retelling of the 13th century Pope Celestine V, who was the first pope to ever willingly resign the position. More recently, a series of young reader fiction, The Pope's Cat, was begun, the first of which published on March 1, 2018, before the fifth anniversary of the papacy of Pope Francis. He has also written a biography of the popular and controversial Jesuit, James Martin. Sweeney has been interviewed on CBS News, WGN-TV, Fox News, and WTTW's Chicago Tonight. He appeared on CBS Sunday Morning to talk about Saint Patrick on March 17, 2013. He is an independent scholar who lectures frequently and leads retreats. Sweeney is also the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at Paraclete Press of Brewster, Massachusetts.