John Paul II and Benedict XVI: two men whose personalities in many ways could not have differed more, yet who discovered in Christ and in the call to shepherd his Church, grounds for mutual respect, collaboration, and, ultimately, friendship.

This collection of texts by Benedict XVI, composed both before and after his election to the pontificate, is a testimony to his close relationship with John Paul II, born over a quarter of a century of close collaboration by two of the most important religious figures of the new millennium.

The twelve featured selections include Ratzinger’s tribute to John Paul II on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of his pontificate, as well as the moving homily delivered by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the funeral Mass of “Our Late Beloved Pope John Paul I.”