Good Pope : The Making Of A Saint And The Remaking Of The Church The Story

On the fiftieth anniversary of Pope John XXIII’s opening of the Vatican Council II in October 1962 and of his death in June 1963, as well as for his likely canonization in 2013, Greg Tobin celebrates the “Good Pope” as a profile of a greatly beloved religious figure who ushered in an era of hope and openness; and it is this “openness” that powerful internal forces have been battling ever since, causing many of the Catholic crises we see today.

This profile examines Pope John XXIII, the “Good Pope,” as a greatly beloved figure who ushered in an era of hope and openness in the Catholic church. Had the Good Pope’s reforms been accepted, the church could have avoided many of crises associated with it today.

Fifty years after he convened the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII remains one of the most beloved and remarkable figures in the history of the Catholic Church. Affectionately known as Il Buono Papa, or the Good Pope, John is remembered today by Catholics and non-Catholics alike as an enduring symbol of peace, ecumenicalism, and Christian spirituality. In The Good Pope, Greg Tobin recounts John’s remarkable story, from his impoverished childhood in Bergamo, Italy, and his successful tenure as a papal ambassador in war-torn Europe to his surprise ascendancy to the throne of St. Peter. In the process, he traces John’s legacy as the spiritual father of the modern Church and explains why the Good Pope and his great council are as vital, vibrant, and important to Catholicism as ever before. Meticulously researched and engaging, The Good Pope captures the heart, soul, and spirit of the man who ushered in a new era of religion in the twentieth century.