It was 9:37pm on April 2nd when the bells of St Peter’s began tolling for John Paul II. One year later, a book has come out revealing for the first time the final days of Karol Wojtyla.

Written by the late Pope’s secretary, Stanislao Dziwisz, his physician, Dr Renato Buzzonetti and Monsignor Angelo Comastri, it’s entitled “Let Me Go”.

Angelo Comastri,
Vicar,Vatican City
“When the pope awoke from his general anaesthetic he asked for a piece of paper and wrote: what have they done to me? Followed by three dots and Totus Tuus".

According to the book, the last words the pontiff breathed were “Let me go to the home of the Lord.”

His secretary writes that last Easter, when it was clear he would have difficulty imparting his blessing on the faithful, John Paul said: I’d rather die than not be able carry out my mission to its conclusion.”

Cardenal Sergio Sebastiani
Head of the Vatican Economic Affairs
“How can we forget that image of the pope trying to bless the faithful from his window and not being able to?... it was something so wonderful that nobody can forget. It summed up John Paul II’s pontificate.”

Dr. Buzzonetti looked after the pontiff’s health for 27 years. He reveals details of the pope’s medical history, including that the pontiff was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 but that the Vatican only said so 5 years later.

The book is 120 pages long, and includes the pontiff’s last moments.

A year after his death, John Paul the Great is as alive as ever.