Special Edition

As author, Pope John Paul II shone

METRO AREA – Greg Kowalsky, a 36-year-old member of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Wyandotte, browsed the shelves of A. Mateja Church Supply, a predominantly Catholic bookstore in Dearborn.

On those shelves recurred the name of one of the world's most popular authors – Pope John Paul II.

"I sure try to read a lot of what the pope has written," said Kowalsky. "It's almost like listening to one of the apostles," he said, adding Pope John Paul II was "so in touch with the Holy Spirit."

Kowalsky is one of millions over the world – and one of thousands in the Detroit area – who's been taken in by the written words of Pope John Paul.

As pontiff, he authored hundreds of books, letters and encyclicals. And few of them have gone unnoticed by readers, students and bookstores.

"We have a whole section of the store that is devoted to books written by the Holy Father," said Jim Hagerty, a manager at the A. Matejas. "We have a big draw for that. A lot of customers come in for books written by him."

Pope John Paul II has been responsible for even more published material, too. Authors and journalists have documented his life, his visits to countries around the world and even his personal prayer habits.

In fact, Pope John Paul II's writings have reached far beyond being just Catholic bookstore favorites.In the fall of 2003, Amazon.com – the country's leading retailer of books over the Internet –listed 250 books authored by, co-authored by, or about the pope. Several of those, the online bookstore's records show, sold more than 1 million copies.

Why has he become so popular in print?

Detroit area readers and booksellers have their theories, ranging from his intelligence to his concern for the common Christian.

"He was such a down-to-earth person," said Annette Krupa, a parishioner of St. Dunstin Parish in Garden City, and a loyal reader of the pope's writings. "He didn't try to make himself sound regal, and he doesn't act regal – even though the position he has is regal.

"He didn't try to put himself above anyone."

Dennis Klotz, who manages the Archdiocese of Detroit Catholic Bookstore next to St. Aloysius Church downtown, said the driving force behind the popularity of the pope's books is, simply, what he had to say.

"I feel that people truly respect what he stood for and what his message was," said Klotz. "And that has been conveyed through the business I'm in.

"I don't know of any other pope who exceeds the volume of things that he's put out."

Among the best-selling Pope John Paul books in Klotz's store are "Pope John Paul II: A Light for the World," "The Stations of the Cross" and "The Poetry of Pope John Paul II."

Also, Klotz said, the downtown bookstore sells a lot of books that on the pope's encyclicals to students at Catholic colleges and seminaries.

The pope has had a profound influence on other parts of the publishing world, as well. Area bookstore managers say books about the lives of the saints – especially newly-canonized saints – are very popular.

And Pope John Paul II canonized more saints than any other pope in history.

"Saints in general are one of the hottest things in the book store," said Klotz. "There has been a renewed level recently of people wanting to know more about the lives of the saints."

Finally, in leading the world's Catholics from one era to the next, Pope John Paul II has made far-reaching enhancements to Church teachings and even prayers, all of which – though incidentally – have influenced the publishing world.

Among those enhancements are his adding the Mysteries of Light to the rosary in 2002, and ushering in the New Evangelization in the late 1990s.