The catecheses and meditations on the psalms and canticles of the Liturgy of Lauds and Vespers published in this volume were given by both Pope St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI during the Wednesday General Audiences. They were begun by Pope St John Paul on 28 May 2001 and continued until his death in 2005, then continued by Pope Benedict until their completion on 15th February 2006. The audiences were given in Italian and the texts used are the official translations released by the Holy See--Facing title page.