When G.K. Chesterton died in 1936, his achievements were recognized the world over. Msgr. Ronald Knox called him “a prophet in an age of false prophets.” The New York Times described him as “the most exuberant personality in English literature.” George Bernard Shaw said he was “a man of colossal genius,” and Pope Pius XI hailed him as “a gifted defender of the Catholic Faith.”
Since his death, almost every pontiff, following Pius XI, has recognized Chesterton in some significant way. Before becoming pope , Cardinal Bergoglio served as an honorary chairman of a Chesterton conference in Argentina and encouraged the country’s Chesterton Society to continue its fruitful work. Benedict XVI read Chesterton as a young man and is known to have quoted him on numerous occasions. Blessed John Paul II cited Chesterton’s sense of wonder in one of his weekly addresses, and John Paul I actually wrote an open letter to him, commenting:
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