In God's Hands

Private reflections of the Roman Catholic pope elevated to sainthood, collected from journals spanning from 1962 to 2003.

As the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005, Pope John Paul II shaped his times in ways few other popes could claim. This powerful and now sainted leader made headlines by conferring with heads of state, inspiring and leading fellow Catholics and other Christians, and building the foundations for making Rome the head of a truly global church.

What the headlines failed to capture, however, was Karol Józef Wojtyla’s longstanding practice of taking regular spiritual retreats for which he recorded his thoughts, worries, meditations, hopes, and prayers. From 1962 until two years before his death, John Paul II filled a series of private diaries, written in his native Polish and never before made public. These journals provide intimate and deeply moving insight into a man, a priest, and a saint, revealing a life devoted completely to God.

In God’s Hands lays bare the soul of this powerful, influential statesman, revealing a devout man untouched by his celebrity status; a selfless servant of God who spent decades questioning whether he was worthy of the role he was called to carry out. Over forty years, from his bishopric in Krakow to his election to the papacy to his final years, one question guided him: “Am I serving God?”

Entrusted to his personal secretary—who defied John Paul II’s instructions to burn them after his death—these notebooks provide us with a privileged glimpse into the life of a humble man whose faith helped change the world and his beloved church.