The text is contained in a new book entitled La Preghiera. Il respiro della vita nuova, (Prayer: the breath of the new life) published by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV), the Vatican publishing house; an extract appears in Avvenire, the daily paper of the Italian Bishops' Conference. "La Preghiera" gathers together several of the Pope's discourses on prayer.
In the book Pope Francis talks about Baptism and new life and talks about the symbol of the body.
In a translation by the Vatican News of his new works, Pope Francis said: "In the human body, there are some essential functions, such as breathing and the beating of the heart.
"I like to imagine that the personal and communal prayer of us Christians is the breath, the heartbeat of the Church, which instills its strength in the service of those who work, study, teach; which makes fruitful the knowledge of educated people and the humility of simple people; which gives hope to the tenacity of those who fight injustice."
Pope Francis goes on to say that prayer is our saying "yes" to the Lord, to His love that reaches us; it is welcoming the Holy Spirit Who, without ever growing weary, pours out love and live upon all, he said: "you are not always conscious of breathing, but you can never stop breathing."
The book will be released in Italy and France on 24th October.