As the author himself states, if this work does not affect you, then you have no soul.
Without a shadow of a doubt this is one of the best books I have ever read. The characters are gone into in depth and one feels their anguish and pain.
Monseignor Blaize Meredith is sent to a remote area in Italy to investigate a supposed miracle. He is in fact terminally ill and his days are numbered. The more he gets to know the characters he meets, the more he begins to understand himself. My heart went out to him and I felt so sorry for him.
This is a work not to be missed and ranks in the top five novels I have ever read. It is many years now since I first read it, but I have never known another like it.
READ IT.