A little less than a year after its launch in Italy, Il mio Papa is about to become an international brand. In fact, by the end of March, the first magazine in the world entirely dedicated to the figure of Pope Francis will be available in six other countries, the result of a licensing agreement with Panini Publishing (a division of the Panini Group).

Il mio Papa will be published each month in Germany (with distribution in Austria, German-speaking Switzerland and Liechtenstein), Poland and Brazil, the first time a brand of the Mondadori Group has been published in the country. Thanks to this partnership an even more extensive readership will come to know the unique formula that has already made the Italian magazine a publishing phenomenon, that has gained a large and wide-ranging audience.

“The arrival of Il mio Papa in such a large number of countries such a short time after its initial launch is a result that makes us very proud,” said Aldo Vitali, editor of the Mondadori title. “These new editions are, for all of us, a concrete recognition of the highly original formula of a magazine, designed in Italy, and of which Pope Francis himself is a careful reader, but with a profoundly international character, whose reputation has spread around the world in a few months. A success that today, thanks to this agreement, becomes global,” Vitali concluded.

“It’s an honour to be able to publish in such important countries an innovative magazine like Il mio Papa, dedicated to Pope Francis, whose worldwide appeal is unmatched,” said Mark M. Lupoi, publishing director of the Panini Group. “Panini has shown in recent years the breadth of its editorial offer, both geographically and thematically, and the launch of Il Mio Papa in Brazil, Poland and the German-speaking countries is a further step in this direction.”

The three international editions of the magazine – which in German-speaking countries will be called Mein Papst, in Poland Moj Papiez and in Brazil O meu Papa – will offer readers every month an unprecedented window on the world of Pope Francis, his life, encounters and messages, with particular attention to curiosities and pictures of him in gestures of great simplicity, while maintaining the positive outlook, as well as the high-impact, colourful layout, rich in photographs, that characterise the Italian weekly.

Mein Papst, Moj Papiez and O meu Papa will have a first part dedicated to current events, with a record of the meetings and travels of the Holy Father, the Angelus, his words, the messages of change, followed by a second part with curiosities about the Pope and his daily life, the Saints, but also on his television appearances, letters and tweets, without forgetting his agenda. At the centre of the magazine, an insert with the story, in episodes, of the life of the popes.

The Panini Group, which is based in Modena and has branches in Europe and the Americas, is the world leader in the production of adhesive figures and trading cards. A multinational leader in the publishing of cartoons, magazines for children and specialised titles, it is also an important distributor of comics and cartoons through specialised Italian bookshops and is also active in a number of multimedia sectors. In 2013, the Panini Group generated revenues of over €531 million, distributing in more than 120 countries and with a staff of some 900 employees. For more information, please go to www.panini.it