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<\/a><\/p>\nYou can find one answer in the impressive and absorbing final episode of the ambitious DVD series, \u201cJohn Paul II: The Man, The Pope and His Message,\u201d<\/a><\/strong> released earlier this month to coincide with the newly beatified pontiff\u2019s feast day, October 22.<\/p>\n The producers asked me to take a look at one episode of this 10-part documentary, and invited me to write about the final segment, \u201cVisiting the Pope: A Day with John Paul II.\u201d<\/p>\n So: what\u2019s it like to be pope?\u00a0 Exhausting.<\/p>\n A typical day for John Paul began at 5:30 a.m., in his private chapel (shown above), deep in prayer.\u00a0 Then came mass, usually with a few dozen visiting priests or special guests.\u00a0 After that came meetings, meals, audiences, speeches, travels.\u00a0 You get the distinct impression that being pope is probably a daunting paradox: at once, the loneliest job in the world, and also one absolutely crowded with people, most of whom you\u2019ll never really see more than once.\u00a0 It\u2019s both intensely public, and intensely private \u2014 John Paul\u2019s days were bracketed with private prayer at the beginning and the end, and at many places in between \u2014 and it doesn\u2019t end until late in the evening.\u00a0 Having seen a typical day in his life, I can\u2019t imagine anyone would really want<\/em> the job, since once you get it, you can\u2019t get away from it, ever.<\/p>\n And now, as never before, the camera catches everything.\u00a0 John Paul was a particularly public pontiff, and he knew and valued the power of the media.\u00a0\u00a0 He warmly welcomed cameras into his life, and this series benefits from that immensely.\u00a0 There\u2019s the pope, climbing a mountain in his white sneakers; there he is, striding over a hillside; there he is, greeting the throngs in St. Peter\u2019s Square, thousands straining forward to to be brushed by his passing hand.<\/p>\n While this series, directed by Alberto Michelini, doesn\u2019t tell us much about John Paul that we didn\u2019t already know, it does present his life and work in 10 brief 30-minute episodes, divided into varying themes \u2014 such as Youth, Family, Human Rights, Mary, the Working World \u2014 and therein lies its real value.\u00a0 Here is the vital and enduring legacy of the most important pope in recent history, told in a way that is not only accessible but engaging and educational.\u00a0 This series could be a welcome tool for parishes on many levels \u2014 for RCIA, for adult education, for discussion groups (there\u2019s even a helpful guide to facilitate that).<\/p>\n In the episode I watched, John Paul is quoted as describing his own \u201cgeographical spirituality\u201d \u2014 visiting places in the world in prayer, carrying them with him in his intentions.\u00a0 In a similar way, this documentary series invites us to take the journey with him, to key thematic destinations in his papacy.\u00a0 For anyone curious about this pope\u2019s life, this is a journey well worth taking.<\/p>\n You can find out more about this documentary and how to purchase it at this link.<\/a><\/strong> Meantime, check out the trailer below.<\/p>\n