Did St. Pope John Paul II Ever Read Imitation of Christ?
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Just as every famous poet has read Shakespeare, there are a few Catholic writers who have been read by Popes and saints alike.
Imitation of Christ is one of these great books.
Amongst these saints and popes are St Francis De Sales, St Ignatius of Loyola, and Bl. Pope John Paul I. However, did St Pope John Paul II ever read The Imitation of Christ?
But first… who is Pope John Paul II?
Who Is St Pope John Paul II?
Saint John Paul II was a pope forged in suffering and hope. Born Karol Józef Wojtyła in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, his life was one marked by resilience in the face of tragedy.
Karol lived in the aftermath of WW1, amidst much loss and tragedy in society. By the age of 21, he lost both his mother, father and brother. These tragedies would shape this man into a leader who would confront a world of violence and find meaning in suffering.
As a young adult, Wojtyła lived under Nazi occupation. The Nazis closed the university in 1939 and forced Karol to work as a labourer. To avoid going to a German labour camp, he signed up for a quarry in harsh working conditions.
But at the same time, he was secretly studying for the priesthood in an underground seminary. These years sharpened his spiritual resilience and taught him to proclaim what is true no matter what. Ordained in 1946, he was sent to Rome for further studies, where he strengthened his lifelong love for philosophy, poetry, and the human person. It was there in Rome that he earned a Doctorate in Theology from the prestigious Angelicum University.
Returning to Poland, Wojtyła ministered under communist rule. As bishop and later archbishop of Kraków, he became known as a pastor who combined intellectual depth with genuine warmth. In 1960, he composed his famous book ‘Love and Responsibility’, a Catholic understanding of human sexuality. His philosophical work laid the foundations for what would later become Theology of the Body, a profound reflection on the true meaning of the human person and love.
In 1967, Karol Wojtyla was made a cardinal. However, in 1978, there was a period of great uneasiness in the Church. Pope Paul VI had passed away, and just one month later, Pope John Paul I had died.
The Cardinals gathered in Rome to elect a new Pope; however, it was not the obvious choice. Out of the balcony came the first non-Italian in more than 450 years. Choosing the name John Paul II, he famously urged the world: “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ.”
John Paul II’s papacy reshaped the modern Church. He travelled more than any pope before him, bringing the Gospel to every corner of the globe. He confronted totalitarian regimes and helped topple Communism in Eastern Europe. His moral authority extended beyond politics; he spoke powerfully on the sanctity of life, the dignity of the human person, and the dangers of a culture that forgets God.
In 1981, he survived an assassination attempt in St Peter’s Square. And in a heartfelt gesture, John Paul II not only forgave the assassin but became friends with him and visited him in jail. The assassin even converted to Catholicism and, in 2014, even laid flowers on his grave.
John Paul II died in 2005 after a long illness borne with remarkable dignity. Canonised in 2014, he is remembered as a shepherd who refused fear, a philosopher of the human heart, and a pope who reminded the world that freedom is only secure when rooted in truth.
What is the Imitation of Christ?
Written in the 15th century, The Imitation of Christ is a collection of short meditations focused on growing in holiness every day. Thomas Kempis aimed to teach people who just entered the monastery how to be good monks. However, soon, the public saw how his wisdom could improve their own lives.
This book isn’t a massive theological book or very complicated. But rather, each chapter is only a few pages long.
The three main virtues this book tries to equip the reader with are humility, detachment and purity of heart.
In society, we can be excessively attached to so many things. Jobs, money, status and pleasure. Thomas à Kempis shows how to shift that attachment toward God, so we enjoy these goods without being enslaved by them.
What makes it enduring is its simplicity. The author’s voice is one of a mentor, not a professor. He steers readers away from pride, worldliness, and distraction, urging a patient, faithful devotion to Jesus.
Millions of copies of this book have been sold. However, one thing that put this book so high in this list was not just its ability to touch the lives of so many regular Catholics, but also canonised saints and Popes.
Did St Pope John Paul II Ever Read Imitation of Christ
To see whether John Paul II ever read the Imitation of Christ, we will look at his public audience addresses to see if he ever spoke about Thomas Kempis.
There were four main occasions when he mentioned the Imitation of Christ.
The first is at the Wednesday Audience on May 29, 1985.
“Christianity, which took such deep root during the first millennium AD, bore particular fruit in the Middle Ages. The churches in the Rhine basin at that time were characterized by a great flourishing of monastic and mystical life, representing a unique current in the history of Christian spirituality. The great mystics of that era were men and women, such as Hadewijch, Blessed Jan van Ruusbroec, Geert Groote, and Thomas à Kempis. It was in this milieu that the book *Imitatio Christi * ( The Imitation of Christ ) originated, a classic text for the spiritual life for many generations.”
The second was in the Netherlands, on May 13, 1985. During the Mass for the sick and disabled, he says;
“All of you, too, both through your suffering and through your loving help for the suffering, are called to be apostles and witnesses of Christ. Here, in your country, I think of your great predecessors in the faith: Servatius, Willibrord, Boniface and Plechelm, Geert Groote, Thomas à Kempis, the martyrs of the city of Gorcum, Peerke Donders, Edith Stein, and many others.”
Later that same day, he remarks;
“We meet in this house of Pope Adrian VI, who, when elected to the papacy, found himself at the center of the grave problems and struggles of his time—struggles in a secular society, struggles in the life of the Church at the time of the Reformation, characterized by opposing factions of princes and Church leaders in a spirit of hostility rather than reconciliation. The inscription on his tomb in the church of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome offers eloquent testimony to this: "Proh dolor, quantum refert in quae tempora optimi cuiusque virtus incidat." Educated in the spirit of the great spiritual masters of the Netherlands—the mystic Jan van Ruysbroeck, the founder of the Brethren of Common Life Geert Grote, and the great spiritual writer Thomas à Kempis—Pope Hadrian was well-prepared to understand the religious needs of his time and to write the famous Brief and Instruction to the Diet of Nuremberg (1522–23), which today we might call an ecumenical document. Here, in his home and in his native city, we met in an ecumenical spirit, with the determination to fulfill Christ's will together, with the help of the Holy Spirit. For this I give thanks to God.
And finally on 30 July 2003, he says that
“the person praying witnesses clearly to another conviction, making a link with the teaching reiterated by the prophets (cf. Is 1: 10-17; Am 5: 21-25; Hos 6: 6): the most pleasing sacrifice that rises to the Lord like a fragrance, a pleasant odour (cf. Gn 8: 21), is not the holocaust of bulls and lambs, but rather of "the broken and contrite heart" (Ps 51[50]: 19).
The Imitation of Christ, a text so dear to the Christian spiritual tradition, repeats this same recommendation of the Psalmist: "Humble repentance for sins is the sacrifice that pleases you, its fragrance far sweeter than the smoke of incense.... It is there that one is purified and every evil washed away".”
From this, it is obvious that St John Paul II had a very positive view of the Imitation of Christ. This isn’t very surprising because this saint read many different books, and his predecessors (Pope Pius XI and Pius XII) described this as a ‘golden’ book.
John Paul II considers Kempis as one of the greatest Dutch spiritual writers in the history of the nation. But not only that, he quotes this book as something which aligns both with the Bible and the spiritual tradition of the Church.
It is therefore very likely that St Pope John Paul II read the Imitation of Christ.
A Book Adored By Saints and Popes
Imitation of Christ is a unique book. It’s one adored by saints, popes, and ordinary people alike. And amongst those was likely Pope Pius XI.
Although it can be a confronting read, it has led many people closer to God.
You can get a copy of Imitation of Christ here at 10% off.
God Bless,
Virtue Books and Gifts