Pope Francis to publish his first book in January

Pope Francis' Italian publishing house on Tuesday unveiled the cover for the pontiff's first book, based on interviews with journalist and Vatican expert Andrea Tornielli.

Titled "The Name of God is Mercy", the book will be released on January 12 in six languages: Italian, English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. This will be Francis' first book published during his papacy.

The cover, revealed on Tuesday, features the Vatican's coat of arms and "Pope Francis" in capital letters. The title is written in red in the pope's handwriting.

The Italian publishing house Piemme, part of the Mondadori group, said that 17 publishers will release the book in 84 countries.

On Wednesday Pope Francis heads to Africa for the riskiest trip of his papacy.

The religious leader will urge efforts towards peace, social justice and conciliation between Islam and Christianity on his travels to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic (CAR) during his five-day trip.