Pope Saint Paul VI: A Pictorial Retrospective

By Karl A. Schultz

Alternatively praised and vilified, Pope, now Saint, Paul VI is perhaps one of the least understood pontiffs in modern history. Often caricatured by both liberals and conservatives, he will forever be known as the pope who “held the line” on Church teaching regarding contraception through his landmark encyclical Humane Vitae. Divided into four sections—his life, his papacy, his teachings, and his times and legacy—this pictorial retrospective of the Church's newest saint is sure to be a treasured part of every Catholic library and home, and a fitting commemoration of both his canonization and the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of his most famous document.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TAN Books
• Release date: Mar 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781505112726

Book preview

2018

Introduction

A pictorial retrospective on Pope St. Paul VI is particularly fitting because he was able to communicate and illustrate the Faith prophetically, in a timely and timeless manner. He did this through powerful images and gestures that, along with his message and character, endure. He continues to influence and inspire not only his successors but those who have been touched by his person and ministry.

Pictures associated with Paul VI can express so much because he was decisively involved in so many pivotal events in his times—even though he was criticized for being timid and vacillating. Although he was neither colorful nor charismatic in public, he nonetheless conveyed powerful images and made vivid impressions through his words and deeds.

VISIO DIVINA

The pictures can remind us of the times, places, and persons, and evoke various responses in us, such as nostalgia, gratitude, sadness, and praise, which in turn can serve as inspiration for reflection and prayer. The term visio divina is used to describe the contemplative experiencing of praying with icons, pictures, or biblical images, utilizing the various steps of lectio divina (reading / listening, meditation, prayer, contemplation, and action) in tandem with our imagination. The sensate dimensions of lectio make visio a natural outgrowth and complementary spiritual practice.

Paul’s aptitude for the timely symbolic gesture, pregnant with meaning and possibilities, makes this application even more suitable. Combine it with Paul’s teachings, generously excerpted in this book, and you have a synthesis of lectio and visio that is both powerful and accessible. If a picture can convey a thousand words, this is all the more true of those involving Paul VI, because of his inspired authority and ministry, affinity for meaningful gestures, aptness with words, dialogical sensitivity to his audience, and profound spirituality and prophetic insight. For example:

•He dispensed communion to impoverished children on his knees.

•He gave one of the most memorable speeches in the history of the United Nations.

•He brought ninety thousand persons to their feet at Yankee Stadium, more than Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, or Mickey Mantle ever did! The Beatles could only manage fifty-five thousand at nearby Shea Stadium two months before.

•He embarrassed a holy man, Cardinal Luciani, by placing the papal stole on him, unknowingly yet prophetically designating his successor.

•Less than three months before his own death, he gave a moving meditation and lamentation at a memorial Mass that consoled a grieving nation.

Pope Paul VI delivers an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Oct. 4, 1965. The pope made a plea for peace. (AP Photo)

Drink in the images and words of this book, ponder the memories and associations they evoke, and bring them to prayer and contemplation. And now we can invoke the intercession of the subject and source of what follows, Pope St. Paul VI.

COLLEGIALITY AND SUBSIDIARITY

Paul didn’t implement the Second Vatican Council, lead the Church, or reach out to the world by himself. He facilitated and supported the ministry and growth of many persons, often in subtle ways and behind the scenes. He encountered people and affected them, leaving an indelible impression. He conveyed the image of a pope in dialogue, in relationship. He had an instinct and predilection for encouraging, empowering, collaborating, and getting out of the way.

PAUL’S GRAND STAGES

Pictorial images abound of Paul VI at the closing of the council offering uplifting exhortations and prayers, and delegating specific vocational messages to others, reminding us that in the life of the Christian there is no room for individualism or pessimism. In the wave of the abuses that followed the conciliar reforms, he too became disillusioned and spoke of the smoke of Satan infiltrating the Church, but he persevered with his message and ministry in a spirit of hope and