"The most beautiful, honest book about the Pope ever written. It is full of news and unknown details and shows a theologian pope comparable to Popes Leo the Great and Gregory the Great. Beyond Pope John Paul's theological side, a human side comes to light that is enchanting and charming." --Mario Rizzi, Archbishop of Bagnoreggio, Italy, and first apostolic nuncio in Bulgaria after the fall of communism
The facts of Pope John Paul II's life are well known, but the mystery of his unique journey has not always been as clear. The pope himself once said: In God s plan, nothing happens by chance and his life bears that out. His narrow escapes from death, starting in boyhood, seem miraculous. The premature death of his mother, father and beloved older brother, his life under the Nazis in occupied Poland, and his years in an underground seminary all helped shape his life choices. Later, the Cardinal of Cracow refused to give him permission to join a contemplative religious order, a decision that now seems providential. ( In the future, the Cardinal said, he will be needed by the whole Church. )
John Paul II is a pope of milestones, a poet, mystic, philosopher and theoretician. John Paul II: A Life of Grace brings these elements of his personality and many events of his life into focus as part of the mysterious action of God in helping this great man discover and accept his destiny.
