The Last Human Face: Franz Stock, A Priest in Hitler's Army

Father Boniface F. Hanley, O.F.M., has produced the only English language biography of the beloved priest Franz Stock, whom the Vatican has recently placed on the road to sainthood. This biography brings the reader directly into the cataclysmic world of wartime France during the German occupation, revealing levels of horror not seen before or since, woven in with the stories of heroic resistance fighters and dastardly collaborators alike who crossed Stock's path. It is a gripping tale that ultimately shows how a single holy man of peace--caught up in a nightmare landscape of unfathomable cruelty--single handedly fought evil simply by offering an example of courage, strength, and an unwavering faith in God. Stock became one of the few Germans revered by the French people after the war, which was fitting as his life-long mission was to heal the long-festering historical wounds between Germany and France. The story of how he accomplished this mission as a chaplain in the German army is both fascinating and a testament to the power of faith and determination to overcome evil using nonviolent means.