New DVD series documents athletic side of Pope John Paul II

Published: 2006-03-21

ROME (CNS) -- The Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport will mark the first anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death by distributing a special DVD series documenting the pope's 26-year pontificate. While this was the first time the paper was promoting a collection that was not exclusively about sports, the paper's editor in chief, Carlo Verdelli, told journalists March 21 that he expected readers would snatch up the DVDs. "Everyone remembers (Karol) Wojtyla, the pope who skied, swam, walked, hiked in the mountains. He was a pope who paid particular attention, very paternal and affectionate attention, to all those who did sports," he said at a press conference promoting the new DVD collection. People in the sports world see Pope John Paul, who was a goalkeeper during his boyhood in Poland, as the pope who was closest to athletes, Verdelli said. The DVD series, called "John Paul II: The Man Who Changed the World, a Pope on the Road to Sainthood," was produced by the Italian television production companies RAI Trade and RAI Vatican.

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