SIX POPES

Monsignor Hilary C. Franco, advisor to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, has led a remarkable life in the Catholic faith. This rich memoir chronicles his amazing journey as a self-described "poor country priest" who forged deep and meaningful friendships with many of the most important religious figures in the Catholic Church. He not only worked closely with Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and counted Mother Teresa as a friend, but also has had the honor of working with six papal leaders: Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and the current Pope Francis. What emerges is a history of modern Catholicism and faith as seen through the eyes of a man who was a personal witness to events that continue to shape the world. Hilary Franco, an Italian-American who grew up in the Bronx in the '30s and '40s, graduated from the Pontifical Roman Seminary with a degree in Biblical Theology-later earning degrees in sociology (Fordham) and Canon Law (Lateran University, Rome)-and ordained a priest at the age of 22. Upon returning from Rome during the reign of Pope Pius XII, he served in several parishes. The ordinary course of Father Franco's life changed dramatically when he asked his spiritual hero, the popular author and television star Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, if they could meet so he could ask him about his books. To Father Franco's surprise (and the disbelief of his superiors), he got his meeting, and they quickly became friends. Impressed with his inquisitive mind, fluency in Italian and Latin, and Scripture training, Bishop Sheen asked Father Franco to assist him at the National Office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, which he did for eight years (1959-1967).A few months after Pius's death in 1958, the newly elected Pope, John XXIII, announced his intention to convene an ecumenical council. The two men (with thousands of others) were thrown into the preparatory work for the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Father Franco would soon be in daily contact with men like Giovanni Battista Montini, Albino Luciani, Karol Wojtyla, and Joseph Ratzinger-respectively, the future Popes Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and Benedict XVI-as well as with notable Council periti ("experts") Karl Rahner and Hans Kung. Franco had a front-row seat to history as Paul VI led the Council in the spirit of his predecessor and then steered the Church through the social, political, and theological upheavals of the '60s and '70s.Whether conveying to Paul VI President Johnson's desire that the Pontiff host Vietnam peace talks (and the Pontiff's immediate, favorable response to a grateful president) or surviving the psychic trauma of Red Brigade terrorism, Franco has never been far from the action. Among his most searing memories is that of hearing the collective hush of the crowd below his Vatican office after the attempt on the life of John Paul II. Father Franco's life of service always has him traveling the globe, never confining him to a desk isolated from the common people he was determined from his youth to help. Shortly after the close of the Council, the Vatican called Father Franco to serve in its Diplomatic Corps at the Apostolic Delegation in Washington D.C., and then in the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See in the Vatican.During the decades that he was in charge of the English Desk of the Vatican Congregation (1970-1994), Father Franco was named Monsignor (1971) and then Prelate (1981). To this day, Monsignor Franco continues to serve the Church as Adviser for the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. Having the personal privilege of knowing several people later canonized Saints-including John XXIII, John Paul II, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta-Monsignor Franco humbly but effectively walks the corridors of spiritual power in New York, the United States and Rome.