About three years ago, I think, a blog reader wrote to me with an idea.
Here name was Ann, she was an artist living in New York, and she was as grateful for the papacy and wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI as I was. She had been stru
ck by the Holy Father’s exchange with First Communion children back in 2005 (wow…that was a long time ago…) and thought it would make a nice children’s book. Would I be interested in helping her edit/find a publisher?
Well, I’m ashamed to say it took me several months to get back to her – she was very patient and I’m glad she was persistent. Over time, she continued working on illustrations, we talked about how to go about this, I edited the dialogue, wrote a scene-setting introduction and some other framing material, did a book proposal, and started sending it out.
And sending, and sending, and sending. To (I think) every Catholic publisher in the United States and several secular publishers.
No, no, no.
Which…surprised me. But enough about that.
A few months ago, I was fretting (and fuming) about this, when the Holy Father’s visit to England was announced…hmmmm…I thought. 
So I wrote to the Catholic Truth Society, and within a very short time, they had considered the idea, agreed to it, and…in a very short time, they have brought it to print. As of today!
Here’s the website entry for the book.
The price is given in US dollars as well as pounds – I assume you can order it from the US, although I’ve no idea what the shipping would be.
(Note: a few people in the comments have said they’ve ordered it – THANKS! – and what their shipping costs are.)
Ann will be eventually making signed prints of the images available through her website, so watch for that.
Both Ann & I journeyed to Rome at various times over the past couple of years, hoping, as a side note to the trips, to present mock-ups of the book to the Holy Father. There’s one illustration in particular that Ann did using a photograph of the young Joseph Ratzinger after his own First 
Holy Communion, that we thought he would appreciate. We both had our adventures in doing so – I attempted when I went in the fall of 2008 (you might remember – to visit my son David who was living over there at the time because, you know, he’d fo
rgotten his jacket, and I probably should take it to him…), and got as far as a seat in the VIP section for the General Audience, but I was on the wrong side for presenting the HF w/Stuff, so I blew it, but Ann succeeded very nicely the next April….
…which was better, since it’s really her and the Holy Father’s work!
We’re very, very pleased to finally see this book in print. We’re praying that the Holy Father’s gift for simple, yet profound catechesis will help children and parents draw closer to Christ.
Updates: Thanks to the always wonderful Teresa Benedetta of the Benedetto XVI Forum for her post on this book.
A couple of weeks ago, I was interested to see that Archbishop Collins of Toronto commemorated the Holy Father’s fifth year anniversary in part by calling to mind this very dialogue with First Communion children.
I met you on that Rome trip at Santa Susanna Amy. Don’t blame yourself. There are “prima fila” (first row) tickets – which allows you into the VIP section – it doesn’t necessarily mean to the first row. And then there are “Baciamano” (kiss the hand) tickets which allow one to literally sit in the first row on the correct side to meet the Pope and to have a few friends sit in the rows behind. It is very rare to get those tickets.
Yes, I remember!
Ann, if you’re reading, and you probably are – “baciamano” explains what the Papal Gentleman said to you: “You can kissa da Pope.” !!!
Yes Amy…and if I had been thinking clearly, I could have easily translated that notation on the ticket…and would have been better prepared for my surprise encounter!
We can sign up now on Amazon to be alerted when it becomes available. It looks terrific!
Thanks Amy and Ann.
And hi to Fr. Joe, who served a while at my parish, Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro. May the blessings of our Lord remain with you, Fr. Joe.
The illustrations are wonderful, Ann!
I hope the book does well for both of you.
BEAUTIFUL!! Congratulations!
Beautiful. I can’t wait to get my hands on this.
Just ordered 3 copies (perfect for some young friends making their First Communion this spring!) and the shipping was less than $10. Perhaps it will be slow, but it wasn’t obscene.
Thank you, Ann and Amy, for this unique book, which looks enchanting in every way! (I just ordered a copy from Catholic Truth Society and paid $7.55 in postage to ship to New York.) As the mother of three, godmother of ten, and aunt to over thirty and counting, this promises to be the perfect gift for first communicants. Thank you!!
Congratulations! So glad it has finally been realized.
I am a public school teacher and I just ordered copies for my two Catholic students who are about to make their First Communion. What a beautiful book. Thanks, Amy and Ann!
I just ordered 2 copies! Looks beautiful! Shipping from the UK site was very reasonable …$8:95 for 2 copies to Florida.
This is very interesting to me because some time ago I happened across a YouTube video (made by EWTN) of part of the event where the Pope answered the children’s questions. The video showed the following exchange:
Andrea: “In preparing me for my First Communion day, my catechist told me that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. But how? I can’t see him!”
The Pope: “No, we cannot see him, but there are many things that we do not see but they exist and are essential. For example: we do not see our reason, yet we have reason. We do not see our intelligence and we have it. In a word: we do not see our soul and yet it exists and we see its effects, because we can speak, think and make decisions, etc. Nor do we see an electric current, for example, yet we see that it exists; we see this microphone, that it is working, and we see lights. Therefore, we do not see the very deepest things, those that really sustain life and the world, but we can see and feel their effects. This is also true for electricity; we do not see the electric current but we see the light.
So it is with the Risen Lord: we do not see him with our eyes but we see that wherever Jesus is, people change, they improve. A greater capacity for peace, for reconciliation, etc., is created. Therefore, we do not see the Lord himself but we see the effects of the Lord: so we can understand that Jesus is present. And as I said, it is precisely the invisible things that are the most profound, the most important. So let us go to meet this invisible but powerful Lord who helps us to live well.”
It made a really powerful impression on me. Here was a small boy asking a simple yet profound question that a child would very naturally ask and receiving a simple yet profound answer from the Church’s greatest living theologian and one of the great theologians of the past century.
Unfortunately I can’t find the video on YouTube anymore.
Amy and Ann,
One more voice of thanks for the chorus. I’m ordering this for the family library and for my 3-year-old godson. (I plan far ahead. :)
This looks like a pefect gift for my daughter, who made her First Communion on Sunday. (Better than her first choice –a Nintendo DS XL, which will have to wait for her b-day.) And I haven’t been reading for a week, so Thank You for the allergy discussion, specifically the unknown-to-me knowledge that sensitiivity to sunlight can be part of a pollen allergy. I’ve known for a while that I’m developing a spring allergy, but did not connect that particular symptom..
So: thanks again!
Thanks Amy! I just ordered a copy for my grandson who is 7. He has not yet been baptized (long story), but Lord willing he will be baptized in time to receive his First Holy Communion next spring.
I wanted a simple yet serious way to explain to him how important the Mass is. I am hoping that this book is the perfect solution.
Ruth
ps: Shipping was only $7.50 so not a problem.