For the past six and a half years, the Catholic Studies Project has been the base for George Weigel’s internationally-acclaimed work on the biography of Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope. Published in English in October 1999 by HarperCollins, Witness to Hope was immediately hailed as the definitive account of the life of one of the great figures of our time. French, Italian, and Spanish editions were also published in 1999. The Polish, Portuguese, Czech, and Slovak editions were published in 2000, while a Russian edition appeared in 2001. The German edition was published in 2002, and arrangements have been made for a Chinese edition and a Ukrainian edition. An inexpensive paperback edition for English-speaking Africa is under consideration. All told, Witness to Hope has sold some 400,000 copies worldwide.

A two-hour documentary film, Witness to Hope: The Life of Karol Wojtya, Pope John Paul II, was premiered in 2001 in Washington, Los Angeles, and Rome. In 2002, the documentary appeared (often on several occasions) on some 90% of the PBS affiliates in the United States, on the global Catholic network EWTN, and on Polish national TV’s Channel One. Italian broadcast rights have been sold to RAI-1 and negotiations are underway for the sale of other European broadcast and cable rights; the Univision network has bought the Latin American rights. The English-language video of Witness to Hope has sold some 60,000 copies, and a multi-language DVD version of the documentary is being prepared. Witness to Hope has won numerous awards, including the CINE “Gold Eagle.”

The documentary is the centerpiece of a Witness to Hope educational package, which includes the film and a study guide, and is currently under development. The educational package will be suitable for use in Catholic schools, parish adult education and Christian formation program, college chaplaincies, and renewal groups. Distribution arrangements for the educational package are being completed in the spring of 2003.