Univeral Father: A Life of Pope John Paul II - Softcover

Garry O'Connor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747581991 ISBN 13: 9780747581994

Publisher: Macmillan, 2005

Synopsis

Karol Wojtyla's early life experiences were of intense love and intense loss: born in Poland in 1920, he was eight when his mother died, twelve when his older brother died of scarlet fever in the hospital where he worked as a doctor, and twenty when his severe but loving father died during the Nazi occupation. God and the Catholic Church were from the beginning his consolation and strength. What is new and unusual about this timely biography is the attention the author gives to the inner man. Garry O'Connor has not only investigated Karol Wojtyla's life before he became Pope - his love of football, skiing and the outdoor life, his commitment to acting, his friendships with men and with women, his experiences under German and then Soviet occupation, his nationalism, his early years as a priest - but has also subtly analysed the Pope's own poems, plays and philosophical works as clues to what drives him. The result, based on O'Connor's scrupulous research, is a vivid and accessible living portrait that dramatically tracks both the personal tragedies, including the assassination attempt in 1981, and the great public confrontations on the world stage.

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Review:

If God is in the details, He’s surely present here. Layer by rich layer, author and prolific English biographer Garry O’Connor chronologically tells the story of the extraordinary life of the late Pope John Paul II. O’Connor shows that to understand the man is first to understand Poland and its history. He introduces us to young Karol Wojtyla’s family members and their numerous tragedies, and shows how his friendships and education shaped Wojtyla for his future role.

We come to know the colorful, multi-faceted future pope through his correspondence, his plays, and his poetry. By turns, Pope John Paul II is shown to be actor, philosopher, athlete, musician, comic book hero, mystic. Wojtyla’s call to the priesthood is compelling, when juxtaposed against the horrors of war and deprivation. As Wojtyla sweats in a quarry or shovels out old prison latrines, it lends context for his future knack of identifying with the common laborer. After Wojtyla assumes the papacy, O’Connor provides a window into the Holy Father’s daily life, his travels, his admirers and his detractors. He also examines the Pope’s controversial battles against women’s ordination, contraception, abortion, and materialism. The chronology concludes right before John Paul II’s death in 2005.

If the loss of one of the greatest leaders in religion of the twentieth century inspires readers to take a deeper look at Pope John Paul II’s life, this book will offer a satisfying, comprehensive tour of the outer events and inner life of a complex and beloved man.--Cindy Crosby

From the Back Cover:

“At twenty, I had already lost all the people I loved… I was not old enough to make my first communion when I lost my mother. My brother Edmund died from scarlet fever in a virulent epidemic at the hospital where he was starting as a doctor. After my father’s death, which occurred in February 1941, I gradually became aware of my true path.”
—POPE JOHN PAUL II

About this edition

• Publisher: Macmillan
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0747581991
• ISBN 13: 9780747581994
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 1