Ten Popes Who Shook the World
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Eamon Duffy
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Format: ClothPrice: $25.00
Of all the men who have served the Catholic Church as pope, who were the ten most influential?
The Bishops of Rome have been Christianity's most powerful leaders for nearly two millennia, and their influence has extended far beyond the purely spiritual. The popes have played a central role in the history of Europe and the wider world, not only shouldering the spiritual burdens of their ancient office, but also in contending with - and sometimes precipitating - the cultural and political crises of their times. In an acclaimed series of BBC radio broadcasts Eamon Duffy explored the impact of ten popes he judged to be among 'the most influential in history'. With this book, readers may now also enjoy Duffy's portraits of ten exceptional men who shook the world.
The book begins with St Peter, the Rock upon whom the Catholic Church was built, and follows with Leo the Great (fifth century), Gregory the Great (sixth century), Gregory VII (eleventh century), Innocent III (thirteenth century), Paul III (sixteenth century), and Pius IX (nineteenth century). Among twentieth-century popes, Duffy examines the lives and contributions of Pius XII, who was elected on the eve of the Second World War, the kindly John XXIII, who captured the world's imagination, and John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 450 years. Each of these ten extraordinary individuals, Duffy shows, shaped their own worlds, and in the process, helped to create ours.
“A spiky and enjoyable account.”—Peter Standford, The Sunday Times
“The 10 sketches in this short book were broadcast in an acclaimed series on Radio 4 in 2007. They work well on the page, achieving brilliantly something hard to pull off: vivid brief lives that are accurate, fair and engaging…..In The Stripping of the Altars, Eamon Duffy changed the way we looked at England on the eve of the Reformation. His Ten Popes provokes us to rethink the way the bishops of Rome made world history.”—Christopher Howse, The Tablet
“….. [A] very readable book….a book highly to be recommended.”—Robert Nowell, Church Times
“Not only is Duffy an elegant stylist; he is the best qualified person in the English-speaking world to write on [this] subject. You will not, therefore, be disappointed in these 10 sketches.”—John W. O’Malley, America
“It will only take you a couple of hours to read this book but you’ll learn a great deal.”—Jonathan Wright, BBC History Magazine
brevity and delightful style. Most highly recommended."—Daniel Boice, Catholic Library World
“A lively and enjoyable read.”—James Kelly, Catholic Times
Publication Date: November 29, 2011
30 b/w illus.
