Pope John XXIII (Penguin Lives) - Softcover

Reviews for POPE JOHN XXIII have been very good so far: 'Papal biographies can often be as turgid as papal encyclicals, so it is a delight to have someone as witty and wise as Thomas Cahill giving the genre a whirl.'Peter Stanford, INDEPENDENT 'In this brisk and concise biography of Pope John XXIII, ThomasCahill skilfully captures his subject's ebullience and humour. He also places John XXIII in the contect of the history of the Catholic Church and the papacy.'Piers McGrandle, CHURCH TIMES 'Thomas Cahill has vividly brought back tolife the magnetic personality of Pope John XXIII in this excellent biographical essay that explains why the Catholic Church neede the shake-up brought about by the second Vatican Council...Cahill brilliantly captures the humour and humanity of Angelo Roncali.'John Cooney, IRISH INDEPENDENT 'Cahill has an enviably colourful turn of phrase.'THE TABLET 'Cahill brings his blend of imagination and interpretative insight into this captivating biograpjy.'GOOD BOOK

'John had trouble with the papal We and commonly slipped into I and me. He was often engaged in trying to get visitors to stop kneeling in his presence... After trying for his first week in office to eat alone, as protocol had prescribed since the days of Pius V, he... soon widened the circle of dinner guests... He gave out that the best tip he had for weight reduction was to stand next to Cardinal Gaetano Cicognani, by far the largest of the cardinals. "Then I feel that I am as thin as a rail." Catching a glimpse of himself in a full-length mirror, he murmured with a chuckle, "Lord, this man is going to be a disaster on television." Life in the Vatican was beginning to resemble a high-spirited Italian comedy... and these anecdotes and many more like them filtered out to the international press, delighting the world at large but especially Catholics, who wondered why they had been content till now with humourless popes who had made the life of the spirit seem an oppression.' Thomas Cahill