John XXIII: Pope of the Century [Paperback]

Peter Hebblethwaite (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0826449956 | ISBN-13: 978-0826449955 | Edition: 2 Sub

A new edition to mark the beatification of Pope John XXIIIAngelo Roncalli was elected pope in 1958 and in four and a half years transformed the Roman Catholic Church. He summoned the Second Vatican Council and put in hand a major revision of the Code of Canon Law. By his personality, teaching, and initiatives with world leaders he gave the papacy a new image and set before the Catholic Church a new version of its mission to the world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A full and authentic account."-Times Literary Supplement

"Hebblethwaite has combined superlative research with the ability to arrive at a judicious assessment of an issue. This is a work in which the broad lines of John's life and those of the other dramatis personae are continually illuminated by telling details and incidents. At the same time the author gives considerable freedom to his sense of humour. His capacity for standing back and smiling at his subjects-a very English quality in a biography-is one of the book's great strengths. In the end Hebblethwaite's achievement is to bring back to us a powerful sense of Pope John's personality and
his views on some of the most pressing issues of our time. Once again Angelo Roncalli's voice can be heard, proclaiming a preferential option for the poor, defending the need for scholarly freedom and the courageous pursuit of truth, and denouncing the enormous evil of the arms race, whatever its specious justifications. Defunctus adhuc loquitur-he has died, but is still speaking to us."—Philip Esler in National Outlook


"A well-developed and entertaining portrait of the pope whose goodness, humor and humility almost moved the church's bishops to canonize him by acclamation at the extraordinary council he convened in 1962."
-The Star-Ledger, April 15, 2001

About the Author

> --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Continuum; 2 Sub edition (September 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826449956
• ISBN-13: 978-0826449955
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,226,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Touched My Heart, June 4, 2005

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PJ DeAngelis (NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: John XXIII: Pope of the Century (Paperback)

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!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book about the best Pope, September 4, 2006

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Radagast the Brown (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John XXIII: Pope of the Century (Paperback)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pope John XXIII Greatness and Mystery, November 8, 2010

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musicnbooks "Leapfrog" (MA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: John XXIII: Pope of the Century (Paperback)

Peter Hebblethwaite provides a condensed biography of Pope John XXIII Here, he describes John's life as he spent the vast majority serving in the Vatican Diplomatic corp, where he was a representative in the countries of Bulgaria and Turkey where Catholics were a small minority. In his final diplomatic position, he was assigned to France, with a totally secular government, most of whom were of Marxist bent. It is in these years that Msgr, Bishop and then Archbishop Roncalli encountered the world so distant from the Vatican Curia. He was well known in Roman circles due to his earlier relationship as an aid to Pius XII. That is when he began a lifelong friendship with Giovanni Battista Montini, his successor. Many of those in attendance at the 1958 Conclave wherein John was elected, wished that Montini had not been overlooked by Pius and had been a Cardinal.

A very detailed description is given of his pontificate, from the election conclave to his untimely death. Having been elected as a transitional "seat warmer" Pope, his decision within the first 3 months of his reign to call the council he called Vatican 2 to update the church's presentation of its doctrines and public image was his overwhelming achievement. The inner workings of the Vatican curia are given less emphasis, but the effort to thwart his convening the council is well documented.

Hebblethwaite gives great color to the majesty of the papacy of John, as well as the humility, holiness and genuine goodness which affected his relationships so well. People described the joy and friendship upon meeting him even for the first time. He worked carefully yet with determination to develop closer ties with the Communist regimes of Europe and China. His greatest diplomatic success was when the Russians allowed representatives of the Orthodox Church of Russia to come to the council as observers. He worked his will through foreseeing the obstacles that the traditionalists of the church curia were presenting and planning intricately to work around obstacles and allow the pattern of his council to work itself out on a larger scale. He was not the micro-manager of Montini, but he was a manager and watched from his apartment all the televised meetings of the council with active engagement.

In many ways Hebblethwaite presents John as a transitional pope, but not a care-taker. He is the definite link between the formality of Pius XII's reign and the disciplined but much less formal reign of his successor. This book is well worth the read. Anyone interested in how the Catholic Church broke away from its moribund state at the death of Pius to be the extraordinary heady energetic period during the sixties to the early eighties should take the time to enjoy this well written and engaging work about a truly inspirational man.