Popes don't typically speak publicly about literature or their favorite books, though Pope Francis is an exception to that rule.
St. John Paul II was similarly open about his favorite literature, even mentioning one of his favorite authors in his opening homily as pope on October 22, 1978:
According to an ancient tradition (given magnificent literary expression in a novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz), Peter wanted to leave Rome during Nero's persecution. But the Lord intervened: he went to meet him. Peter spoke to him and asked. "Quo vadis, Domine? "—" Where are you going, Lord?" And the Lord answered him at once: "I am going to Rome to be crucified again." Peter went back to Rome and stayed here until his crucifixion.
Who was Henryk Sienkiewicz?
Henryk Sienkiewicz was a popular Polish author during the late 19th and early 20th century. The novel that gained him international fame was entitled, Quo Vadis, and was a piece of historical fiction set during the time of Emperor Nero in Rome.
Quo Vadis was translated into languages around the world and it led to Sienkiewicz being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905.
St. John Paul II commented on the spiritual themes from the novel during a screening of a film adaptation in 2001:
"Quo vadis, homo? Young man or woman, where are you going?" Are you going to meet Christ, or are you following other paths that take you far from Him and from yourself?
The question strikes us more powerfully, when we remember that the place where we are at this moment is precisely the place where, 2,000 years ago, the facts narrated by the novel and film, Quo vadis, took place. In fact, we are in the area of Nero's Circus, where many Christians were martyred, including St Peter. A silent witness of those tragic and glorious events is the obelisk, the same obelisk which was then located in the middle of the Circus and which, in the 16th century, was erected in the middle of St Peter's Square, heart of the Catholic world. On top of the obelisk, is enthroned the Cross, to remind us that heaven and earth will pass away, with its empires and human kingdoms, but Christ will never pass away: He is the same: yesterday, today and for ever.
If you haven't read the book (or seen the movie), consider picking it up, based on the recommendation of St. John Paul II.
