Paul VI, born Giovanni Battista Montini, ranks among the most influential figures in the modern history of the Roman Catholic Church. When he was elected pope in 1963, he faced the awesome responsibility of guiding the Church through the conclusion of the historic Second Vatican Council. With the Council behind him, an overarching challenge shepherding the Catholic communion during the turbulent aftermath of Vatican II - the aftershocks of which are being felt throughout the Church to this very day. Peter Hebblethwaite succinctly characterizes the pontificate of Paul "He managed to complete the Council without dividing the Church. He reformed the Roman Curia without alienating it. He introduced collegiality without ever letting it undermine his papal office. He practised ecumenism without impairing Catholic identity. He had an Ostpolitik that involved neither surrender nor bouncing aggressivity. He was 'open to the world' without ever being its dupe. He pulled off the most difficult trick of combining openness with fidelity." Yet, the life of Paul VI encompassed more than the fifteen years of his papacy. His biographer devotes nearly as many chapters to the time preceding Paul's pontificate as he does to his years as pope. Montini's personal experiences coupled with the tumultuous events of his time gave shape and purpose to the activities and judgments of a pope beset by the challenges of modernity. His anti-Fascist crusade as a young priest; the talents, know-how, and contacts he developed during three decades of service in the Vatican Secretariat of State; the terrorist bombing of his residence while he was archbishop of Milan; the devastation of two World Wars; the stripping away of people's religious freedom at the hands of oppressive regimes - all this helped to define Paul VI. With such a past, his future had to be a matter of consequence. And it was - amid open, productive ecumenical dialogue; as dissident voices were raised against h

Pope Paul VI: The First Modern Pope

Hebblethwaite, Peter

HarperCollins, Publishers

The runaway Church

Religion & Spirituality

Fount Paperbacks

Year of Three Popes

Fount Pbs.

Born into a simple family on the northern edge of Italy, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli spent much of his working life in unfashionable diplomatic postings in Sofia and Istanbul until his surprise appointment as Papal Representative in Paris in the difficult years immediately after World War II. In 1953, he became Patriarch of Venice in what was assumed to be the last appointment of a man whom many considered worthy but naive. When at the age of 77 he was elected to succeed the austere and aristocratic Pope Pius XII, they called him the stop-gap Pope, not expected to reign long or to do much. Yet, in a mere four-and-a-half years, Pope John XXIII transformed the Roman Catholic Church. He called the Second Vatican Council and gave it a vision for the future. He mediated in the Cuban missile crisis and promoted dialogue between Kennedy and Khrushchev. With his encyclical, "Pacem in Terris", he made hope seem possible again. This biography is by the author of "The Year of Three Popes" and "Paul VI - The First Modern Pope".

John XXIII: Pope of the Council (Fount Classics)

An examination of the papal election process reviews the trends that have shaped previous elections and profiles the most likely candidates for succession to Pope John Paul II. 35,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.

Next Pope: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at How the Successor to John Paul II Will Be Elected

Harpercollins

An examination of the papal election process reviews the trends that have shaped previous elections and profiles the most likely candidates for succession to Pope John Paul II. 35,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.

The Next Pope: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at the Forces That Will Choose the Successor to John Paul II and Decide the Future of the Catholic Church

History

World

The life of Pope John Paul I is closely linked to the history of his native land.

John Paul II (A Pictorial Biography)

Kaufmann, Ludwig

McGraw-Hill Book Company

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 Roman Catholic Church. Through his personality and teaching, and his initiatives with world leaders, he gave the papacy a new vision and set before the Catholic Church a new version of its mission to the world. Today many people throughout the world see Pope John XXIII as one of the twentieth-century's most loved and influential figures.

John Xxiii: Pope of the Century

Continuum

The Christian-Marxist Dialogue: Beginnings, Present Status, and Beyond

Humanities Pr

Synod extraordinary: The inside story of the Rome Synod, November-December 1985

Darton, Longman, and Todd

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Books by Hebblethwaite, Peter