This is a fascinating and powerful autobiographical interview of one of the most prominent and outspoken Cardinals appointed by Pope Francis. The biography alone is inspirational. But Cardinal Sarah’s commentary on Christian living in the modern world and his response to the controversial issues of the day—including the upcoming ordinary Synod of Bishops—are profound and invigorating.

Robert Sarah is the only son of a convert Catholic couple who lived in a remote village of Guinea, West Africa. Inspired by the zeal of the Spiritan missionary priests who made great sacrifices to bring the Faith to Africans in the most neglected regions, his parents became Catholics. Robert discerned a call to the priesthood and entered the local seminary, but due to the oppression of the Church by the Communist dictator of Guinea, he had to continue his studies in France and then in nearby Senegal.

He was appointed Archbishop of Conakry, Guinea by John Paul II, becoming the youngest Bishop in the Catholic Church. His predecessor had been imprisoned by the Communist regime for several years, and Archbishop Sarah himself—because of his refusal to be coopted by the President—was at the top of the governments list for assassination when John Paul II called him to Rome to be Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to be the Prefect of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.