“An extraordinary accomplishment: Controversial but crucial for debate in today’s Catholic Church.”

— Kirkus Reviews (Starred review)

“Sharp portrayals of the last seven men who have served as supreme pontiffs … Jesus Wept delivers a compelling recent history of the 2,000-year-old institution whose leaders reach for heaven but often fall spectacularly, sadly, into the morass of mortal fallibility … Nothing is spared.”

— The New York Times

"Gripping and compelling.”

— The Economist

“Endlessly fascinating, insightful and brilliantly told.”

— Booklist (Starred review)

“A richly detailed portrait of a complex, hierarchical, and secretive institution as it grappled with a modernizing world.”

— Publishers Weekly

“Insightful …. Beginning with the reign of Pope Pius XII and the aftermath of World War II, the book explores the personalities, politics, and conflicts that marked each pope’s reign.”

— Library Journal (Starred review)

“Gripping …. a sweeping chronicle of the seven popes since the Second World War, starting with Pius XII and ending with Francis. It’s rich in narrative detail and will engross both neophytes and cognoscenti.”

— Literary Review

“Lively … Popes are people, too, and one strength of Jesus Wept is that it shows them as such.”

— Cullen Murphy, Air Mail

“An impressive overview of the Catholic Church told in a neat, nuanced narrative that captures its triumphs along with its abysmal failures.”

— Teddy Duncan Jr., Washington Independent Review of Books