To my friend Pope Benedict XVI, With Love Chico

New York, Apr 21: If you want your children to know about the life of Pope Benedict XVI, then all you need to do is get them the autobiography that has been penned by his cat. "Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat", a 36-page illustrated book, has been penned by Italian journalist Jeanne Perego. However, it takes people through a journey of the pontiff's life through the words of his cat Chico.

"I'm meeting you in the pages of this book to tell you a story about my very best friend, a wonderful man with whom I've shared so many happy times," the New York Daily News quoted Chico, as saying. "I want to tell you about where he comes from, how devoted he is to his studies and his work, what is he doing now." The tome starts with the Pope's birth in Bavaria, Germany, in 1927, travels to when Joseph Ratzinger reluctantly joined the seminary in 1939, service in the German Army during World War II, and finally his becoming the leader of the Catholic Church. "At the beginning, Joseph was not enthusiastic at all about living in a community. He could not concentrate on his studies and it felt as if he had lost his freedom."

On Benedict's service in the German Army during World War II, Chico says: "During that period, Joseph was forced to do something that went absolutely against his will: join the army and go off to war."

Chico also reveals that he no longer resides with Benedict XVI, as animals aren't allowed at his house in the Vatican, and that he now lives with a neighbour near the pontiff's former home in Bavaria.

ANI