The astonishing story of some of history's most revered and reviled figures. Men who still cast light and shadows on the vatican and the world today. Norwich captures nearly two thousand years of inspiration and devotion, intrigue and scandal.

“A History of the Popes” tells the story of the oldest living institution in the Western world-the papacy. From its origins in Saint Peter, Jesus' chief disciple, through Pope Benedict XVI today, the popes have been key players in virtually all of the great dramas of the western world in the last two thousand years. Acclaimed church historian John W. O'Malley's engaging narrative examines the 265 individuals who have claimed to be Peter's successors....

Pulitzer Prize winner Garry Wills has been asked more than once why he remains in the Church, especially in the wake of his bestselling book Papal Sins, which examined the darker side of the religion's history. In Why I Am a Catholic, he offers some persuasive and heartfelt answers. Beginning with a reflection on his early experiences as a child, and later as a Jesuit seminarian, Wills reveals the importance of Catholicism in his own life. He discusses...

Vivid stories of the ten popes the author judges "the most influential in history," including 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...

In Holy Father, celebrated papal commentator Greg Tobin surveys the extraordinary legacy of John Paul II and examines the new head of the Church, Pope Benedict XVI. Who is the German-born Joseph Ratzinger? Tobin sheds light on every chapter of the new Pope's life, from his childhood to his seminary education and through the career that led to the papacy. Tobin also provides an insider's look at the conclave that captivated the entire world while electing...

In this compelling series of lectures, widely esteemed author and professor Thomas F. Madden illustrates how the papacy, the world's oldest institution, gave birth to the West. Since Jesus Christ instructed the foremost of his Apostles, Peter, that he would be the rock upon which Christ would build his church, the papacy has survived the rise and fall of empires while continuing to assert an undeniable influence on world events. The men who have served...

This engrossing book, from a professor of the history of Christianity at Cambridge, encompasses the extraordinary story of the papacy, from its beginnings to the present day, as empires rose and fell around it. This new edition covers the unprecedented resignation of Benedict XVI, and the historic election of the first Argentinian pope.

"Describes the life, tribulations, and achievements of Pope Francis"--