Harper Collins Publishers
CV NEWS FEED // On the 25th anniversary of the book “Witness to Hope,” author George Weigel reflected on personally giving a copy of the papal biography to Pope St. John Paul II.
In a September 4 article written for First Things, Weigel explained that he had promised Pope John Paul II in 1966 that the biography would be finished for the Great Jubilee in 2000.
When the book was published, Weigel wrote that delivering the book to Pope John Paul II himself was “capped by an unforgettable moment.”
In September 1999, Bishop Stanisław Ryłko, who had assisted Weigel in his research for the book, called him while Weigel was in Rome and told him that they would both dine with the Holy Father the next night.
At the dinner with St. Pope John Paul II and several others, Weigel recalled how an unprecedented question struck him, regarding giving the Pope a book about him: “What does a biographer say to his subject when giving him his life, so to speak?”
Weigel wrote that since “no elegant resolution of this dilemma” presented itself, he handed Pope John Paul II the biography, and “said something anodyne, like, ‘Well, here it is.’” He explained that no “intense conversation” immediately followed, as they all looked at the photo section together.
After dinner, the men all went to the villa’s chapel. Before the Holy Father knelt down to pray, Weigel recalled,
John Paul II drew me into an embrace that lasted at least a minute and a half. No words were spoken between us, but I heard Bishop Dziwisz say quietly to Bishop Ryłko, “Un grande lavoro” (a great effort), to which Ryłko replied, “Un lavoro d’amore” (a labor of love).
Weigel concluded, “A quarter-century later, the memory of that silent embrace remains. So does my gratitude that Witness to Hope continues to strengthen the faith of Catholics and lead seekers to Christ and his Church.”
