Nun's book captures 'extraordinary' 25 years of papacy

Published: 2003-10-20

ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) -- A veteran communicator, Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh knew that her press packet had to be extra-special to stand out in the deluge of information that would surround Pope John Paul II's 25th anniversary -- so she made it into a book. "John Paul II: A Light for the World," a 256-page "pictorial documentary," was published by Sheed & Ward in October to coincide with the papal silver jubilee, but prepublication sales passed the 30,000 mark. The clothbound, coffee-table/resource book combines essays or personal anecdotes by all the active U.S. cardinals and a cross section of clergy and laity, a foreword by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, photos by Vatican photographers of papal visits all over the world and an extensive list of "essential resources" on the pope. In August Publishers' Weekly said it "may be the pick of the crop" among new books on the pope. Sister Walsh, who edited the book, is deputy director for media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington. The book costs $35 and can be ordered directly from Sheed & Ward by telephone at: (800) 462-6420, or on the Internet at: www.rowmanlittlefield.com.

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