Pope Benedict XVI has inked a book deal with Crown Publishing Group’s Image Books imprint, publishing “a penetrating and theologically rich exploration of the infancy and early life of Jesus.”

The book will complete Joseph Ratzinger‘s Jesus of Nazareth trilogy, arriving in the United States on December 4, 2012–just in time for Christmas. Image Books senior editor Gary Jansen negotiated the deal with Italian publisher Rizzoli. The Random House imprint will also publish a Spanish edition of the book in time for Easter 2013.

Here’s more from the release: “The first book in the series, a New York Times bestseller published in 2007, covered the period from Jesus’ baptism to his Transfiguration; the second, also a New York Times bestseller and issued in 2011, chronicled the passion and death of Jesus. Now, Pope Benedict focuses exclusively on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ infancy and childhood, sharing a compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and inciting readers to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure and the hope of the Christian faith.” (Image via)