Patrick Novecosky
Episode 405
9 NOV 2026
He previously was on this show more than six years ago, back on Episode 83. His new book, “Icons of Mercy – The Faith, Friendship, and Legacy of John Paul II and Mother Teresa,” is already ranked #50 on Amazon in the Christian Popes category. On the sports side, he is a Life Runner and continues to compete in marathons – having completed eleven in total – and in mid-October at such an event in Baltimore, he set a new personal record, which he used as a reference point for Pope St. John Paul II, who he met five times.
Notable guest quotes:
“No question that the Holy Spirit brought (John Paul II and Mother Teresa) together. They met for the first time in 1973 at an International Eucharist of Congress in Australia. Three years later – 50 years ago this year – in Philadelphia at another International Eucharist of Congress. By that time Mother Teresa was a worldwide figure. John Paul as Archbishop of Krakow hadn’t yet been elected to the papacy, but two years later he was and by that time he and Mother Teresa already had a friendship and from there it just blossomed.”
“When (John Paul II) was shot in St. Peter’s Square in 1981, (Mother Teresa) was already in Rome and I have no doubt that she rushed to the chapel and begged our Lord to save the life of her friend. She was one of the first two visitors after he came out of his surgeries and pinned the Miraculous Medal on him and I think that cemented their friendship.”
“(John Paul II’s) love of sports. He was such an outdoorsman. As a young priest, he would take young people out on hiking trips and kayak trips. Matter of fact, he was on a kayak trip when he got the news that he was elevated to Bishop.”
“John Paul developed this whole philosophy, the theology of the body, based on not only our sexuality, but our very being, our physical, corporal being, how God created us.”
“The outdoors just really help me to connect with God and understand him at a deeper level, because I’m by myself, I’m experiencing nature. And God speaks to us in the quiet.”
“Part of the winning strategy is playing your role in order for the team and the greater glory of the team. If each person as an individual acts as an individual on a team, you’re going to lose every time. You could have a team of all-stars. And if you’re not working together, you’re going to fail. And the church is kind of a model of that.”
“I often tell young men in particular that if their friends aren’t helping them grow in holiness and virtue, they need to find other friends because we are shaped by those who choose to surround ourselves with.”
“I asked for his intercession. I mean, John Paul was an athlete. He understood the discipline that it takes to achieve a goal, no matter what it is… while I was running even, I said, ‘John Paul the great, intercede for me that I run a good race’ … I ended up beating my previous (personal record) by seven and a half minutes.”
“You have to understand that if you stand for Jesus and his church, that you’re going to encounter opposition. And that’s okay, because that’s what saints do, and we’re all called to be saints.”
“John Paul… I had three private audiences with him in the Papal apartments.”
“I think you can look at Mother Teresa as a spiritual athlete, who in a sense ran a marathon every single day of her life… an ultra-marathoner for Jesus.”
“The most important finish line that we’ll ever cross is the one that leads us to heaven. And we have to keep that in the forefront of our mind.”
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