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Reviewing a Biography of a Saint 20 Years After His Death
‘Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II’
For the past six weeks, the world’s attention has been focused on Pope Francis’ battle with pneumonia; thankfully, he appears to be on the mend. For many, the vigil outside the hospital where the pope was treated and the nightly Rosary recited in St. Peter’s Square called to mind a similar vigil for an ailing pontiff exactly 20 years ago. Sadly, on April 2, 2005, Pope St. John Paul II lost his prolonged battle with multiple illnesses and went home to be with the Lord.
No matter your religious affiliation (or total lack thereof), if you study culture, politics, and history you cannot deny the impact Pope John Paul II had on the world in the 20th century. The approaching 20th anniversary of his death is an ideal time to explore a massive biography about the pope’s life and times by author George Weigel, Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II. And I do mean massive; my copy runs exactly 1,016 pages.
However, those 1,000-plus pages fly by at a speed you normally don’t find in a biography or history book. Weigel has an engaging style that holds your attention even in the initial section on John Paul’s childhood years in Poland, the part of a life story that is often the most tedious to read about. He…
