God’s Wild Flowers: Saints with Disabilities by Pia Matthews (Gracewing 2016: £12.99)

Pope Saint John Paul II (1978-2005) had a long reign as the successor of Saint Peter. His pontificate saw the Church changed by the vision and the energy of the Polish Pontiff. This remarkable individual believed deeply in the dignity and value of each human being. For Karol Wojtyla, elected Pope in 1978, had faith and belief that through the young and the disabled, categories of people often marginalised, that they could teach the Church and the World how to witness to holiness and thereby transform people’s lives for the better. For Pope Saint John Paul those afflicted by disability were not minor characters in a play but instead the main actors who inspire society to live by love. This is really a beautiful book that reveals in the lives of laity, priests and religious their immense love of Jesus. These stories can call many of us to open our hearts to the One who loves us-Jean Vanier.