Journal of a Soul (Pope St. John XXIII, 1964)

I'm wrapping up some loose ends from my recently completed Church History course. Only selections from this book were read in class, so I read through the remaining gaps last month.

If you don't know anything about Pope John XXIII, a straight biography may be in order before reading this. However, the documents presented here (mostly journal entries from retreats, plus some letters and short published pieces) will certainly get readers into the mind of the Pope, who was 80 years old when elected and not expected to do much more than get from Pius XII to whoever would succeed him. Reading even the earliest entries, it is no surprise that he would instead take on an ambitious agenda, crowned by the convening of the Second Vatican Council. Also remarkable was that this book was the first book of a pope's personal writings published with the active consent and support of the author.

Fans of Pope Francis will likely find Pope John to be an early inspiration. It isn't surprising that the book is available across academic and public libraries, though not necessarily every single one. If you are Catholic (or pointy-high Episcopalian!), the easiest thing to do may be to consult your parish library, if you have one. Editions vary (mine was from 1999), but they should all read the same, more or less.