Books by Jon M. Sweeney

Jon M. Sweeney is an independent scholar and author of popular history, spirituality, poetry/mysticism, memoir, and young reader fiction. He's one of the most popular interpreters of the life and work of Francis of Assisi, the author of 30 books including many about St. Francis, such as "When Saint Francis Saved the Church," "The Complete Francis of Assisi," and "The Enthusiast," a biography Fr. Richard Rohr called "An immense and important contribution to our understanding of the great saint." HBO optioned the film rights to Sweeney's history about the medieval Celestine V, "The Pope Who Quit." Sweeney has been interviewed on CBS News, WGN-TV, Fox News, and CBS Saturday Morning. He lectures frequently and leads retreats.

In 2018, Sweeney's "Phyllis Tickle: A Life," was published in February. He traveled to seven cities to promote the biography. 2018 also saw the release of Sweeney's highly anticipated new series of fiction for young readers, "The Pope's Cat."

Religiously and spiritually, Sweeney's first two decades were spent as an involved evangelical in Wheaton, Illinois (a story told in the memoir "Born Again and Again"); he then spent two decades as an active Episcopalian (see "Almost Catholic," among others); and on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi in 2009 he was received into the Catholic Church. Today, he is a practicing Catholic who also prays regularly with his wife, a congregational rabbi. Jon loves the church, the synagogue, and other aspects of organized religion. He would never say that he's "spiritual but not religious."

Sweeney is the father of four and lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He works in book publishing. After co-founding SkyLight Paths Publishing in the late 1990s, he became editor in chief and publisher at Paraclete Press for many years. In 2014-15, he left Paraclete to work in Catholic publishing, only to return in the fall of 2017 to Paraclete as publisher. He serves on the board of the Association of Catholic Publishers and of The Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies.

Jon writes a quarterly article on books for "America" magazine, and also reviews and writes frequently for "The Tablet" in London.

His website is www.jonmsweeney.com.