Popes through the ages

By Joseph Stanislaus Brusher

Popes through the ages This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891411100
• ISBN13: 9780891411109
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Neff-Kane
• Length: 530 Pages
• Weight: 4.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Popes Through The Ages

The first time I was exposed to this book was in 1965. My 8th Grade teacher used to book a simple way to teach the Lives of the Popes. The book has its flaws as an in depth examination of each pontificate. If one is seeking for more in depth studies; many of the popes from Pius IX to John Paul II have separate books devoted to their lives. The Oxford Dictionary of the Popes has longer biographies but no pictures. Many of the pictures used by Fr. Brusher are the mosaics of the popes in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls in Rome, Italy. I highly suggest the book for teaching children and non-catholics in learning about the 264 men who have served as Holy Father.

Useful, though flawed, as history; excellent illustrations

This was first published in 1959 after the election of John XXIII, and updated in 1964 and 1979 to include subsequent pontiffs. While Father Brusher's work is of somewhat limited use to the historian (being a Jesuit, he tends to over-emphasize the majesty of the office while being eager to explain away some of the truly awful men who served), it is perhaps the only volume ever published to attempt an illustration (mosaic, painting, sculpture or photograph)of EVERY pope from St. Peter to John Paul II. That is where its true value lies: to tie human faces with the stories of the 263 men who governed the Church. And the collection of illustrations is without parallel, from many different sources. If only for these reasons (Brusher's historical sketches are adequate, but others have done it better), this book needs to be back in print!