Nun from Diocese edits pope book

Sister Mary Ann Walsh, RSM, knew that her press packet had to be extra-special to stand out among the deluge of information reporters would receive on Pope John Paul II's 25th anniversary -- so she made it into a book.

"John Paul II: A Light for the World" is a 256-page "pictorial documentary" of the last 25 years of the papacy, combining essays 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 a massive list of "essential resources" on the Pope.

Sister Mary Ann, who edited the book, is deputy director for media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A native of the Albany Diocese, she is a former assistant editor of The Evangelist.

Contributing writers

It seemed like everyone who had ever met the Pope wanted to write something for the book. When Sister Mary Ann chose her writers to cover issues from interfaith relations to families and limited them to 400 words each, she joked that "screams could be heard all over the East Coast."

Clergy and laity were also chosen to write anecdotes about their experiences of Pope John Paul's "human side." In one essay, Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati recalled scolding the Pope, a fellow Pole, for allowing his name to be misspelled on a placecard at dinner.

Though the archbishop's fellow diners gasped at his boldness, the Pope joked in reply, "If you want to make a protest, you have to take it to the Secretary of State first. We all have to follow procedures."

Favorites

Among the editor's favorite essays were one on the papal role in the collapse of the Soviet bloc and another by Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, who recounted leaving the Pope alone for a moment before dinner at the Cardinal's residence and returning to find him in the kitchen, serving himself a bowl of soup.

Sister Mary Ann's own story of meeting the Pope at World Youth Day in Denver in 1993 didn't make it into the book.

"We were doing a TV hookup, and I'm always afraid he's going to get hit with a boom mike on my watch, so I stayed," she recalled. "We were there for four hours, and I expected him to go when it was over. But he had to stop and greet every person in the room. We were just there as 'techies,' but he didn't see us that way. He saw us as people to be greeted."

Personal notes

As a former teacher, youth are near and dear to Sister Mary Ann's heart, and she wrote two of the book's essays on the Pope's connection with young people.

"He has an incredible capacity to be present to people" in general, she added. Papal synods, for instance, last for a month and involve hundreds of people, but Sister Mary Ann has seen the Pope invite about 10 people to have dinner with him every night during the synods.

"He would know something about everyone at the table," she said. "He knows what touches people."

Picture perfect

Since the book was created by the U.S. bishops' conference, Sister Mary Ann wanted to make sure it included pictures from every papal visit to the U.S., so there are rarely seen photos from stops like Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska.

The editor remembers those trips, because they occurred during her time at The Evangelist.

"I was writing about that [Alaska stop] for The Evangelist, and I had the opportunity to call our Sisters [of Mercy] in Alaska," she said. "One of them had ironed the white parka they gave the Pope."

Careful editing

With such a massive stable of writers -- and many photos supplied by the Vatican with only dates on them, not details about where they were taken -- the editor said her biggest fear was not catching a mistake in the book.

"If you make a mistake in a newspaper, you can run a correction the next week," she explained. "A book is more permanent. The most you can say is, 'Well, we'll correct it in the next edition!'"

It wasn't until the book's first run -- 50,000 copies -- came back from the printer that the editor breathed a sigh of relief. Now, several other countries are expressing interest in publishing it, as well.

Witness to history

As the Pope's infirmity increases and questions arise about how much longer his papacy will last, Sister Mary Ann told The Evangelist that she's pleased to have been able to assemble the book for his 25th jubilee.

"Things move so fast," she remarked. "I'm glad to get a perspective on these 25 years. I'm awed I've been able to witness so much history."

In her own interactions with one of the longest-reigning popes in history, she noted, "I've been struck by the graciousness of the man, the holiness of the man."

(10/16/03)