John Xxiii: Pope of the Century

By Peter Hebblethwaite

Book Overview

Angelo Roncalli was elected Pope in 1958 and in four and a half years, through summoning the Second Vatican Council and putting in hand a major revision of the code of Canon Law, had transformed the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826449956
• ISBN13: 9780826449955
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Continuum
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The best book about the best Pope

This is the best book about John XXIII I have ever read. I read a biography about every Pope since 1846, and this was the best one. John XXIII was a saint, and this book clearly shows it.

It Touched My Heart

The peasant child who would be Pope...each stage of John XXIII's life recalled in a well directed manner, including some little known facts that were most interesting. His great devotion not only to God and his Church, but to mankind as well, revealed in profound ways. I was surprised that this simple, humble servant of the Lord was also a brilliant man with eloquence of speech and a compassion that reached across all walks of life and left its mark on humanity. An enigma who was at once a traditionalist with a passion for history, and also a reformer of the Church, with a keen sense of what was necessary to meet the demands of his modern day flock. Despite his elevated office, he remained a man who loved to talk to all peoples, and held in his heart a very special place for the downtrodden, the poor.His relationships with his family members were especially endearing.Most interesting was his role with the Jewish people during their darkest days.I could not put this book down! If my memories of Pope John from my childhood always seemed to touch my heart, my knowledge of him now has truly captured it! A gift from God whose Blessed presence in our world remains enduring. A must read for those interested in the Papacy, the Vatican, or simply a tender and exquisite story of one man's journey of Love. My deep thanks to the late author, Peter Hebblethwaite, and his wife Margaret for this gem!