Paul VI - Part 1: at the helm in choppy waters...

(Vatican Radio ) Pope Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Montini was elected as Successor of Peter fifty years ago on the 21st June 1963.

On December 20, 2012 Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus, signed a decree recognising the "heroic virtues" of a Pope chosen to lead the Catholic Church at a crucial time in its history, finding himself with the delicate task of closing and implementing the Second Vatican Council.

It's a decree which highlights the value of a Pope who was not always fully understood. One who was described at the time as a man full of contradictions, bafflling yet brilliant, austere yet personable, enigmatic yet firm in his authority.

Join Veronica Scarisbrick as she steps back in time to bring you the testimonies of some of those who lived through that era and personally knew Paul VI, as well as Vatican Radio archive sound relating to Paul VI ...

A programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick.

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